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Amen, okay so we're up to Matthew chapter 5 in our Wednesday evening Bible study, in the second half of chapter 4, if you remember Jesus called Peter, Simon Peter that is, and Andrew, then James and John, and then look at verse 23 there, just back in chapter 4, where it reads, and Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people, so he's preaching the gospel, the glad tidings, the good news of salvation, right? Yeah, so Jesus is clearly preaching that, he's been going around preaching that it's grace through faith, he's preaching how to get saved, he's healing people, verse 24 says, and his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them, and they followed him, great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan, so great multitudes are following him, right? Yeah, that's what we see there, there's lots of people following him, well then we go into verse 1, where it says, and seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him, now this isn't the 12 disciples or apostles, because he hasn't called them at this point in Matthew's Gospel, so for me these are the multitudes following him, and I think now whether or not how many of those did end up right there or not, it's referring, and when I say it, the Holy Spirit, yeah, through Matthew's referring to it as his disciples, his disciples came unto him, so, well actually just jump forward, look at Matthew 8.1, because in case you're thinking, well maybe he just went up, maybe there's just some people, maybe it's just sort of, you know, Simon and Andrew and James and John, well Matthew 8.1 is after what's, this is known as a Sermon on the Mount now, chapters 5, 6 and 7, and at the beginning of verse 8, chapter 8 and verse 1, it reads, when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him, okay, so great multitudes have gone up, great multitudes have come down, but the great multitudes coming up, I think are being referred to as his disciples, remember he's going out, he's preaching the Gospel, all these people are following him, for me these are all saved, so he's talking to what are being described by the Holy Spirit for me as his disciples, they're saved, right, that's the key here when you read this passage that they're saved, okay, so then let's see what he preaches, the Sermon on the Mount, now this first passage is also known as Beatitudes, okay, and we're going to see all these, blessed are ye, blessed are ye, blessed, we're going to have a look at this in a second, so it says in verse 2, and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, and we're going to go to the Lord in a word of prayer before we start, so Father thank you for this great chapter of the Bible, thank you for just all the many lessons we can get from it, please help me to teach those clearly now, to just preach boldly, accurately, help those to be attentive, to have open ears and open hearts, so what you've got to say to them through your word, please just help me to do it justice, Lord, help me to preach accurately and fill them with your Spirit, Lord, in Jesus' name pray all this, Amen. So he opened his mouth and taught them saying, okay, and now the following 10 verses, each start, if you kind of have a look at them, with what seems to be a paradoxical statement, so there's something which is basically something which is contradictory, so if you look at the first half of each verse, the justification comes after the colon in every verse, so if you, we're going to have a just quick skim through the beginning of each verse, blessed are the poor in spirit, so how are the poor, whether you want to call them poor in spirit or poor blessed, blessed are they that mourn, how's a mourner blessed, blessed are the meek, being meek isn't generally considered a blessing, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, people longing for righteousness aren't thinking yeah I'm so blessed, blessed are the merciful, the merciful are often looked at as getting walked over, blessed are the pure in heart, the pure in heart are often victims, blessed are the peacemakers, the peacemakers have a tough job, real peacemakers, it's not exactly fun, and blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, so even blessed if they're persecuted for being good, why are all these people blessed, why are they all blessed, well first and foremost because they're saved, because they're saved, so look there's a secondary application there as well, but who are these people, it's them, the multitudes that he's talking to which he clearly then makes clear in verse 11 where he says blessed are ye, so he's saying blessed are they, blessed are they, blessed are they, all these people, he goes blessed are you, that's who he's talking to, when men shall revile you and persecute you, shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you, so he starts off saying all these people are blessed, all these people are blessed, who are these people, they're you, it's you, you're the ones who are blessed because you're saved, because if you go back to the second half now of each verse, so verse 3 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, verse 4 for they shall be comforted, again you could say in the future in heaven for they shall inherit the earth, verse 5, verse 6 for they shall be filled, talking about righteousness, verse 7 for they shall obtain mercy, again we're going to obtain eternal mercy aren't we, verse 8 for they shall see God, verse 9 for they shall be called the children of God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, verse 10, okay so for me look they're blessed in spirit, you could say that first verse is really saying that first and foremost they're blessed in spirit but there are obviously blessings as well that come from being these sorts of people that he's talking about here and we're going to look at those as well, so there are blessings that come in this life too, he starts off in verse 3 with saying blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, now what does it mean blessed are the poor in spirit and many people interpret this in a different way, a similar passage and it's not the same, it's not talking about this sermon on the mount but he's giving a similar sermon, by the way there's nothing wrong with sometimes giving similar sermons and going over things which need preaching more, well Jesus Christ in Luke 6.20 you don't have to turn to a similar passage where he says and he lifted up his eyes and his disciples and said blessed be ye poor for yours is the kingdom of God, now many people look at the blessed are poor in spirit and say well he's talking about you know someone who's got a poor spirit or something else, I don't really believe that because he then says it whether or not it does or not well Luke 6.20 he says blessed be ye poor okay and he's not talking about the spirit at all there so rather than their spirit being poor I believe that it means that the poor are blessed in spirit okay the poor are blessed in spirit is what I read that as and again look there's not private interpretation I get that, that's what I believe when I read that, spirit here being their eternal soul and I think that it's a precursor to what he's saying is the overriding point is you're all blessed every single one of these people because you're saved here blessed he talks about being blessed in spirit now Acts 7.59 you don't have to turn there says and they stone Stephen call you upon God and saying Lord Jesus received my spirit okay so soul, spirit can obviously be talking about your soul as well not just the Holy Spirit or not just the kind of the spirit of things that you do okay yes they might be poor this is what I believe he's saying here yes they might be poor but they're blessed in their spirit of soul because they're going to heaven okay first and foremost because they are going to heaven now the fact that they're poor as we all know means that they're much more likely to get saved in the first place doesn't it anyone notice that I'm sure everyone has noticed that when you go out soul winning if they're poorer they're much more likely to get saved turn to Proverbs chapter 18 they are much more receptive and look we come on I don't think anyone here if you go out soul winning regularly you know straight away that as soon as you happen to stumble across that rich area as soon as the driveways get bigger and the parked cars are parked in the driveway and the cars start getting nicer and suddenly that there seems to be a bit of a posher accent when they answer the door we still try don't we but let's be honest it's a lot rarer to get the salvation isn't it okay and that's the truth there and with that I mean it's funny actually I remember being out we were going out quite regularly a while back in in a place called Roehampton it was quite a poor area and we're setting out tables a few of us and I remember a guy it was someone who was trying to stop us and prevent us one of the you know the devil's guys came out he started going dude you only go to poor areas do you do you you know like somehow we were victimizing the poor or something you know what were we actually doing preaching we didn't even have a church at that point really that we were inviting them to we were preaching a gospel to him and saying look you know I hope you can find something but I've been looking around London I can't really find anything and you're unlikely to really make the journey to where we were going at the time which was down in Basingstoke but look there's no victimization the fact is like I said to this guy yeah they're more receptive because they're not as prideful okay that's really ultimately what it comes down to now okay so where are we Proverbs 18 verse 11 why is that well it says the rich man's wealth is his strong city and there's a high wall in his own conceit so in his mind it's a high wall his riches he's okay because he's rich and we get that attitude a lot don't we when you come across those people now some of them might actually think they're blessed maybe they actually think that they're blessed because they're rich because of all the false teaching about you know kind of wealth wealth prosperity type teaching as well that there is out there but regardless it's a pride that increases with wealth isn't it yeah pride does increase people get more and more prideful the more money they end up with they have to turn their ecclesiastes 9 6 9 16 though says then said I wisdom is better than strength nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard see the problem is though you go to those doors and unless you turn up in Omani suit or something else which I don't think anyone here does have if you do you're wicked but hard I know but but when you turn up there when you turn up to those doors they're just looking at you thinking what are you gonna tell me because the poor man's despised by them they just think you haven't succeeded what in in life like I have because that's what they think they think they've succeeded but for the rest of us we're looking at them thinking what a shame what a waste of life you know what a waste of life but the rich man's wealth is his strong city there's a high war in his own conceit so in their mind they're they're okay they're protected they're rich etc now turn the first Timothy chapter 6 while you turn them I'm going to read Luke 6 24 which says but woe unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation so unfortunately what it seems to be saying there is a lot of rich people it's almost like that's their consolation in this short very short very very short life that those riches are their consolation because they're going to go to hell and what a terrible consolation to be burning in hell thinking about those momentary riches that you had in this life well the rich people you will find these rich people in other religions I won't yeah yeah you knock on those rich doors oh it's not that they're all atheists such clever atheists it's not though is it a lot of the time they're into another works salvation religion yeah that's what they're into it's just some form of works in pretty much that's it pretty much every false religion every other religion out there borrowing the truth and yeah rich people are happy and those in those religions aren't they because it's all pride isn't it it's all well look how good look how well I'm doing well I'm a good you know I must be doing well because I've got a nice car I must be doing well cuz I've got a big house I must be doing well because I've invested in Bitcoin or wherever you know the latest fashion is with that but but unfortunately that's not the case is it they're not doing well and and after salvation no after salvation wealth still can corrupt yeah so it's not that well you save that's it you're sorted it so easily becomes an idol and it destroys Christians lives isn't it and you're in 1st Timothy chapter 6 verse 9 reads but they that will be rich as people that are aiming their goal is money fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition and that's that's people seeking money it's a trap isn't it it's a trap and we as Christians here we want to make sure that we don't spend our lives seeking money seeking riches seeking wealth because you will fall in you'll fall into oh sorry into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition so Jesus said back where you were in Matthew 5 blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is a kingdom of heaven and look you could even say with that there's a blessing that comes from not having all that money because so many people when they start getting money it doesn't stop at that does it when they get a taste of the money then it just starts being something that's that's being chased after like a hamster on a wheel and that carrot just just is always just in front of them isn't it and and the person that has the nice car they want the Ferrari and the one that has a Ferrari wants I don't know the yacht and the one that wants a yacht wants a bigger yacht and the one that wants got the bigger yacht wants a helicopter or it just it never stops does it anyone know any rich people are like right I've got enough I'm done I'm hanging up I'm retiring I'm gonna spend some time with the kids and the grandkids they never do do they it's just more and more and more and more it's never enough never enough and the thing is is that we can look at those ultra rich look like that but there are many people that would look at people like us and think that many people here are rich and think you're doing pretty well but I hope that you're content with what you got because godliness with contentment is great gain yeah okay and that's how we want to make sure we are whatever it is that you end up having in life because none of it really is that important is it okay so that was verse three we're gonna go on to verse four where he reads blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted so these saved mourners you could say is still blessed yeah and obviously they're saved yeah there's a blessing in that yeah you're saved you're mourning look you're gonna be comforted ultimately eventually he'll wipe away all tears won't he there is a blessing with that but also because they shall be comforted in life as well unlike the unsaved depending but we know we're gonna get comforted don't we Turner John chapter 14 and look I can testify for this I've mourned two years apart to the day for for to for a parent two years apart both my parents my mum my mum died first and my dad I was unsaved when my mum died I was saved from my dad died and what a difference a complete opposites apart when my mum died I was broken it was it took me a long time to get over when my dad died and it wasn't that I just hated my dad you know and it wasn't but I tell you what with the comforter with the Holy Spirit of me it was an entirely different different ballgame all together and I've lost people since that as well I'm not saying it's easy but there is a time to mourn there's a time to weep yeah there's a time to love there's a time to mourn but it's so much different when you got the Lord yeah and here's the thing is this what people don't understand as well is that knowing that they are unsaved it was still easier because a lot of the time you go to a door don't you and you feel a bit uncomfortable and someone says they've just lost someone because you know really they're gonna kind of get understand what you're really saying to them but you know what when you're saved it's even that much easier with someone that you know is burning in hell and there's this it's the Holy Spirit there's no other explanation is there how can you understand that truth but yet still have that comfort that you didn't get when you're understating you could unsave you could tell yourself well I'm sure they're gonna be in heaven because deep down you know they're probably not that's why so okay so where are we John John chapter 14 well why is that it's the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit is a comforter John 14 in verse 16 says and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever this is John 14 in verse 16 going on to verse 17 even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you I will not leave you comfortless I will come to you that's God the Holy Spirit dwelling in you and in Matthew 5 where we were Jesus is talking specifically about mourning and there's a gen but there is a general comfort as well so we get that comfort in life we do get that comfort when we're mourning when we're mourning loved ones there is a comfort that comes from the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost but there's there's a general comfort we get going through life as well don't we yeah because look some of the stuff that you some of you guys do now as Christians look I'm sure you probably wouldn't have just you know I'm sure even at the beginning even when you had the Holy Spirit going you're just walking up to some random door and what can sometimes be some pretty rough areas yeah where there's sometimes some pretty rough looking people around you know and sometimes there's gangs are pretty rough sometimes some of you guys will walk up to gangs of rough people in pretty rough areas and I and tell them that they're going to hell and you're going to show them how to go to heaven and you need a bit of comfort for that sometimes though yeah yeah because that we can all think that oh yeah I was bold to begin with no way no way would you be doing that stuff but the Holy Spirit the comforter helps you do that stuff yeah did you turn to Acts 9 turn to Acts chapter 9 Acts chapter 9 is is early days after Christ okay soon after Saul's conversion so up until now they've had all sorts of persecution okay but they've had a little rest at this point then Acts 9 and verse 31 says then had the churches churches plural by the way again churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria so there's some multiple churches by the way at this point yeah okay they were they were coming up pretty quickly they were planting churches quick they weren't kind of waiting till they built a palace till they built the you know they they wait until we've got thousands then we might plant a church somewhere you know once we've spent 10 years 20 years training up the right person no they had churches pretty quickly didn't they then had the churches restaurant all Judea and Galilee and Samaria and were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied so it's the comfort of the Holy Ghost there from going and doing things for the Lord now you would at this point when you expect them to be nervously looking over their their shoulders we're talking about Galilee we're talking about Judea we're talking about places where Jesus Christ was massively persecuted where he's hunted down in the areas and around the corner from where he got nailed to a cross yeah but they've got some comfort there it said here they walk in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied well like I said doing things that most people wouldn't doing things that I doubt any of these people would have done before like we saw at the end of the Gospel of John they're locked up in a room aren't they with the door lock scared to go out well now they're out they're out with the comfort of the Holy Ghost and that's what the Holy Ghost does well and by the way interestingly in in John I think it's chapter 20 when it is locked Jesus Christ comes in and breathes on them the Holy Ghost and it's not long after that they're now going out and doing great things but here's the thing if if you're nervous you're scared you're sad look you need to get into things of God don't you yeah you want to be you don't just want to have well I've got the indwelling Holy Spirit yeah that's great we've all got the indwelling Holy Spirit you're saved the Holy Spirit dwells dwells within you but if you are if you start doing things for God you can be filled with that Holy Spirit as well you want a Holy Spirit to come upon you to fill you you want to have that Holy Spirit and that's going to help you and and look sometimes in the worst times of our life in the saddest times of our life that's when we need to be in the things of God that's when we need to be in the Word of God that's when we need to be at church that's when we need to be in prayer that's when we need to be in the Bible because that's when your Holy Spirit will comfort you most and ultimately it's gonna come from the Word of God isn't it okay he goes on to say blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth so the meek what is what is being meek well some might say humble there is something that goes with meekness as well maybe it's a lack of sort of retaliation when you know when when most people would but for me I see humble a lot when it says meek and look we should be described as meek okay save people meek now don't get confused there okay meek doesn't mean effeminate yeah meek doesn't mean that you whisper when you talk yeah meek doesn't mean that you kind of walk around with your head low and everything else it's just talking about having a humbleness about being a based about not being cocky not being full of yourself not being puffed up not being not not being full of pride okay there is an element of it required for salvation though isn't there yeah there is an element of that required at least at the point of salvation and look just because you got saved does it mean that you automatically meek does it you know there's no works required just bear that in mind because some people think well I must have been this you know the reason I got saved is because I'm just so humble yeah no that's not the case but at least when you heard the gospel praise God you were humble enough to accept it at that point yeah okay but you because you do have to accept your need of a Savior don't you you have to accept your need of a Savior and how many prideful people just cannot do that they cannot accept that they need a Savior and and it can be such a stumbling block on it that that pride is such a stumbling block to salvation hi isn't it hard it don't you say when you preach the gospel to someone and you get it and they're listening and they're hearing it all and you can just see that pride coming up and you know I'm gonna have a problem here at the end and and and so often you get people at the end the pride just will not let our world I won't I already knew that well you didn't say that you did I you know and then you start getting into almost a row about what they believed beforehand and clearly they're unsaved because the pride just destroys it doesn't it how frustrating is that and again that's why it's so important when you're preaching the gospel to make sure that they tell you what they believe yeah and look it can be hard you know when you get those ones that just won't give you a straight answer and you feel like you're interrogating them you kind of up the 20th kind of angle trying to just get him to admit what they really believe but it is important isn't it because unfortunately what happens you get to the end of your gospel presentation oh yeah I already believe that oh and then you're trying to you're trying to remember what exactly did they say and unless you get it concrete out of them and look again you're not trying to trip them up either are you but you need to understand what they really believe what they understand don't you don't put words in their mouth though obviously as well okay so turn to Psalm 119 we spoke about the rich earlier but there there are many that aren't humble for one reason or another right what about the intelligent by the world standards not always very humble are they those that have studied a long time and you know and again just because you study doesn't make you intelligent but but there are those that have studied there are those that have done years of university and and in their mind you know what on earth are you going to tell them on the door especially if you're a bit rough around the edges when you knock on the door okay that can be a problem can't it but what about you know those that just a kind of the self-sufficient types you get women that come out with this so you know I'm so self-sufficient yeah they don't want it they don't want to save you they don't feel they need a savior because they believe that they can do it all themselves what about people that think they're tough as well people that think they're tough they they don't want to accept the need for someone else saving them see that can be a problem and there's pride in all of that isn't there it's not just always riches is it's not always money looks sometimes you you know let's be honest you you knock on a door and you get someone who's got like the Hollywood looks answer the door and the chances are they're probably not gonna hear the gospel okay because they're so full of themselves they think they've got it all sorted same with what about the bloodline pride in your bloodline pride in in being and the biggest one for that usually is what we the world calls a Jew yeah those that say they're Jews and they're not but at the synagogue of Satan but how much pride you get I mean how often when they even well I'm a Jew have you had that before in the door do you know for sure you're going to heaven I'm a Jew how often yeah I mean it's got in fact that's that's quite a common response if you don't know cuz I was doing looks like it well they've got now I'm learning more about these little things on the door that I always thought were a little drop of paint or something but whatever yeah well I'm a Jew but but it's all pride isn't it's all pride and it's such a stumbling block look down at Psalm 119 in verse 21 because the Bible says that the proud are cursed Psalm 119 in verse 21 says thou has rebuked the proud that are cursed which do err from thy commandments now the most important of those commandments being to get saved and look many can struggle with pride at times but here it's talking about the worst type of people okay these are the worst type of people it talks about Psalm 119 because interestingly pride is one of the big attributes of God haters isn't it reprobates haters of God you know the enemies of God and here in Psalm 119 the Psalmist calls them the proud okay that's what that's who he's referring to because he actually mentions it quite a few times if you look at verse 51 of Psalm 119 he says the proud have had me greatly in derision yet have I not declined from thy law so when someone has you in derision they're mocking all that scornfully laughing at you you know can you then and this is this is a man of God here why in the Psalmist talk about people that are mocking, scawning at him because they're the proud verse 69 the proud have forged a lie against me but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart so they're forging lies they're slandering verse 78 let the proud be ashamed for they dealt perversely with me without a cause but I will meditate in thy precepts so they deal wickedly it's all sorts of sneakiness verse 85 the proud have digged pits for me which are not after thy law so they're trying to set him up try and catch him in traps verse 1 2 2 be surety for thy servant for God let not the proud oppress me so they want to oppress a man of God there as well that's why pride is such a suitable name for that freakish festival it's such a suitable name because they are described in the Bible as the proud yeah the wicked that the enemies of God the God haters those that just want to attack men of God in the Bible are the proud so you know go ahead call yourselves what we know you are the proud yeah the reprobates the God haters and obviously we want to be as far away from that description as possible don't we yeah everyone here surely you want to be as far away from the description of what is the God haters the enemies of God and like I'm you know here they're described as the proud it's not anyone who's proud that's it okay so again just to make sure if you're sitting there going oh I got a bit proud the other day about something okay that doesn't mean that you're a reprobate but but it is something we want to steer clear of isn't it okay you will get you will get blessed in life when you're me because well look at James well no you don't turn it James 4 10 I'm just going to quote it quickly says humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up repeat that again humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up okay we want to be humble don't we so it's God's children we should be described as me but there's a caveat there too because people like to criticize bold pastors you notice that before yeah they'll they'll passes that stand there and preaching loud and preaching clear then it's oh look how proud they look he's so prideful pastor you fill in the blank what a prideful pastor yeah because he's preaching and saying no this is what the word of God says and I bet some of you have had it when you're out preaching the gospel to someone who will then claim that you're prideful because you're saying to them no this is what the Bible says well you're Joe well how do you know what you you think you know best and the rest of it yeah but look you don't have to be unsure when you say thus saith the Lord okay there's nothing you have to be you don't have to like pretend that well I'm very meaty well I think that the Bible might say that but you might be well no what does the Bible say because he that glorith it sorry he that glory let him glorieth in the Lord yeah okay if we're going to glory then look there's nothing wrong with glowing in the Lord yeah and I want to glory in the word of God and I've got nothing there's nothing wrong with saying to someone no this is what the word of God says yeah this is but again you don't have to do it in some arrogant way where you come across you know like an idiot but but be be be look be confident what the word of God says be bold in the word of God but not in yourself blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth okay and again as we're going through this yeah the first application is all these people he's talking about what should be attributes of the saved okay yes they're blessed they're going to inherit the earth yes they're saved but but also you are blessed as well if you behave like this if you take on all of these are godly attributes you're going to receive blessings in life for that as well look at verse six blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled oh you look at this world don't you just at this nation alone and I hope you long for righteousness I hope you look at the wickedness out there I hope that you you're you're you've managed to separate yourself enough to look at it all and just long for righteousness yeah I hope that you all do and you probably don't see it coming yeah but if you're saved you're blessed okay because it is going to come and there is going to be a righteous world isn't there in fact there's going to be a pretty righteous millennial reign which is going to be a great starter and then we've got the new heaven and new earth and then it's going to be absolutely amazing isn't it but I'm looking forward to the millennial reign I hope everyone else is as well but and of course there is coming a day when no darkness shall come great him that isn't it but yeah we're going to rule and reign with Christ but don't miss what the analogy is here food and water food and water he said blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness now they're constantly used as analogies for the word of God aren't they yeah so again I'm just going to quote them quickly you don't have to turn there John 6 35 this isn't really a new concept John 6 35 says and Jesus said unto them I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst it's obviously fulfilled by Christ the word but obviously in the word as well Matthew 4 4 says but he asked said it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word it proceeds out of the mouth of God we saw earlier a couple of sorry one chapter back John 4 14 says but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life what am I saying is that when Jesus said blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled you don't have to wait until the millennial reign or the new heaven and the new earth you can get filled by the spiritual milk by the strong meat of the word by the bread that's in the word by the water of life the everlasting water that's in this word of God the righteousness of this book yeah if you hunger for if you thirst for it read it and look you can be filled by that and look what a difference it makes doesn't it when you when you see that wickedness out there in the world and you just you're just hungering and thirsting for righteousness read the word of God I'm not saying read about things like Lot and Sodom and things like that but read about God's judgment read about the word of God read about the the commandments have gone and read about what's going to come in the future and look you can get filled by the word of God can't you yeah you can get filled it does help you get through those days and some people they look at the world and just it's just so evil it's so we can get in the word of God surround yourself immerse yourself be girt by truth because look for me when you know people and you talk to people that are sitting there watching all these fear-mongering things all day every day and all the news channels and all the videos about this and news stories and everything else look that's pretty grim yeah and they're hungering and they're thirsting but you know what they should be doing is immersing themselves in the word of God they should be listening to the word of God they should be listening to preaching they should be reading the word of God they should they could be listening to all the other word of God and then look I don't think you're going to hunger and thirst as much then yeah of course we want righteousness yeah of course we want God's righteous judgment but you can get it from the word of God as well can't you okay so blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled and obviously ultimately that's in the future but blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy that's verse seven there back in Matthew chapter five okay the merciful are those that show mercy forgiveness compassion right often looked down upon in the world aren't they and I don't think there's anything new under the sun they've probably always been looked down upon in the world people that show compassion that show mercy that show forgiveness I mean there's a there's a word that the English like to use for those people mug yeah you heard that one before what a mug what you think I'm some sort of mug you know basically you know that I'm some sort of pushover I'm someone that's just going to forgive you think I'm just going to forgive that like somehow you're some sort of weak person if you do that that you're somehow some sort of joke if you're forgiving if you're merciful if you put up with stuff but he said here blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy and of course you're blessed if you're saved as you've sealed permanent mercy for your eternal soul haven't you but there are blessings in this life too if you're merciful aren't they yeah if you're merciful if you go through life showing mercy giving mercy to people when they don't deserve it then you do get blessed for that you do get blessed for that okay something that that not only did God do in a in amazing way by his son dying on that cross but he also shows us mercy on a day-to-day basis doesn't he yeah yes you're you're forgiven of all your sins past present and future if you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ okay that goes without saying but but there's a daily walk that we have isn't there and we need the mercy of God don't we because look i don't want his whippings yeah i don't want him to to punish me in life how many sins did each of you here probably commit since sunday okay can i have a raise of hands if it's on the tip no i'm joking again 10 plus but who's in the hundred mark uh no i'm kidding okay someone someone wants to bring his but um look all of us here have and do sin yeah we shouldn't be going out and purposely trying to sin but we all sin okay we're all sinners and some people they they come to a church like this and think like that you know and that would be a foolish thing to do they're like oh you you guys have just got it all sorted but no look we're all sinners okay everyone's a sinner okay there's none righteous no not one okay but but on that we do want God's mercy for that sin don't we okay because our loving father like a loving dad you know he will punish sin so and when we come to him and and we say look please forgive me for that God's going to forgive you a lot of the time but here's the thing if you're not forgiving other people so if if one of your kids those of you parents here or if you're not think about someone who is and one of their kids if they've done something a bit wicked they've done something bad and they've come to you and they've admitted it and they've said please show mercy to me a lot of the time you're going to give them quite a lot of mercy but imagine if in the same breath they're just not forgiving their sibling they're just saying oh you know no i'm not accepting your apology well albert please can you accept my apology are you gonna are you gonna accept that are you gonna be merciful i bet you're not it's like you wicked little child how dare you look what well look at the hypocrisy wouldn't you be saying i think you would yeah and that's exactly the same with our with our father in heaven there so how much mercy we show i think will then will then you know show in how much mercy we receive from the lord so and when you're thinking well who are we talking about with what about spouses yeah how often do spouses not show each other mercy how often do spouses still talk about that time 10 years ago when you did this or you did that yeah that happens isn't it yeah or or kids maybe siblings do the same or maybe it's with old family members i mean how many family riffs um there are probably people here that still maybe that have siblings that they still don't talk to or the cousin that they still i'm not i'm still not talking to them you know i remember back in 19 something or other when they you know looked at me funny at a family party that stuff goes on yeah but you want forgiveness of the lord do you yeah when you know better when you've got the word of god in front of you we don't deserve it do we but we want to be make sure we're giving it and look families friends you can think of many many examples of it and there's a knock on effect as well so it's not just for look for the lord is it so when when we don't show mercy to people do you think they're likely to show mercy to to us so if if my wife i'm just i'm not forgiving you for you know whatever it is for you know i won't give examples because she's gonna get embarrassed but but if i did if i did like and then i expect her forgiveness when i'm just you know grumpy or i'm snappy or something else yeah i'm not yeah i won't forgive her for her minor things you know it's ridiculous isn't it and again it has a knock on effect you want to you want to receive mercy of people you better make sure that you show mercy as well otherwise look it's you're not going to get it now god's less likely to forgive us like i said he's less likely to even hear our prayers uh look at just go over the chapter to matthew 6 and verse 14 matthew 6 14 says for if you forgive forgive men their trespasses your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you forgive not men their trespasses neither will your father forgive your trespasses and then it's chastisement time isn't it yeah so look we don't want that chastisement but like i said there is that knock on effect as well and we want to receive it further down the line so go back to verse 7 there so it said blessed in matthew 5 blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy and obviously there's an everlasting mercy there but there's something we want to get in our day-to-day lives now verse 8 blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god now what's the pure in heart is that someone that's perfect is that someone that doesn't sin no pure in heart is talking about good intentions without ulterior motives turn to first peter chapter one first and while you turn now i'm going to read first timothy 1 5 which says now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned you read that again now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned these go hand in hand charity or love out of a pure heart without ulterior motives a good conscience yeah it's not for another reason faith unfeigned not fake not not fake fate sorry fake faith and it's not obviously fake love either because unfortunately there are many fakes around that's just a sad truth of life isn't it there are many fakes around we don't want to be those sorts of fakes the love seems so real but it's to get something from you okay whether or that's to set you up whether it's to to get something else whether it's to you know to curry favor off your whatever else okay you have to be careful for that just because someone's oh well they just seem so loving always telling me they love me they're always that means nothing okay we don't want that that we we want charity out of a pure heart a pure heart and it could take a while to know that for sure can't it first peter chapter one where you've turned verse 22 says seeing you've purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren so that to me says that who peter's writing to the safe by the way yeah the elect the strange that scattered abroad well it seems that they're capable of feigned love because he's saying seeing you've purified your souls obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently so again we are capable it seems of not loving one another with a pure heart yeah of of we are capable of feigned love so it's without feigning faking a pure heart single mind on the love not the results of it okay but on that okay that doesn't mean for example that well you know so loving so we just put up with everything because i if if you guys love your brother's assists in the church you're not going to put up with certain wicked sins in the church right yeah that goes without saying so i just love them so much i'm just oh it doesn't matter they've walked in here like half cut stumbling into the church oh just better keep it quiet because i want to show i want to make sure i'm showing love for my brethren here you just sit down i'll get you a coffee for example or or brother or sister so and so is clearly living in fornication but we just want to love them so much they won't say anything yeah okay so clearly look there is a the the love for all conquers that doesn't it and obviously by the way it's not love look there's a there's a love that comes with rebuke isn't there yeah so look we should obviously be be sometimes you have to rebuke people in love you have to approve people in love you have to do things for the greater good as well but we it should be unfeigned right so it's unfeigned it's not fake love okay and that's what he's talking about here about being the pure in heart single-minded on the love not the results of the love not what am i going to get from this love not how am i going to appear from being so loving yeah and by the way the love one the the love one is is you know and you've got to watch for this because this is a classic attack you'll always we see it time and time again rinse and repeat rinse and repeat yeah man of god preaches he preaches hard on sins you're so unloving you're so unloving yeah you get it time man of god has to deal with something in a church oh where's the love where's the love why aren't you just putting up with it where's the love you'll get it time and time again we see it every time with these guys how many trolls online where's the love where's the love i'll tell you where the love is the love is for the sheep yeah the love is for the sheep and the little leaven leaven of the whole lump and look men of god have to stand up and be bold enough to preach this stuff and they'll always get told that they're unloving okay so obviously keep an eye out for that that will that always comes and don't fall for it when you start seeing that nonsense on the youtube channels and everything else of people oh yeah there's just not enough love in that church because what because they're not just putting up with rampant sin so unloving anyway ridiculous so go back to matthew five and verse eight that's where we are because there are people that are sincere not scheming not manipulating because we don't people like that are hard to be around aren't they now being like this being a pure in heart could be frustrating it could be disappointing couldn't it yeah and by the world's by the world standards if you're pure in heart you're just sincere in everything you do you're just everything's just straight down the line you're just trying to love people do stuff look you're probably going to get a hard time of it in life and it can easily be used by wicked people can't it easily used by wicked people you're just trying to see the best in people trying to do the best all the time but firstly if you're saved then great okay if you're saved great you're blessed okay if that's one of your characteristics that's something that we want to be yeah we want to make sure that we're pure in heart want to try our best to be pure in heart but if god tells us to be like that we're going to get blessings in life as well aren't we yeah if you if god's telling you to be saying blessed yeah he's going to bless you if you're pure in heart and i believe he this every one of these verses applies to life and applies to eternity the fact that you're saved yeah and they are they should be characteristics they're things we're trying to be like but if you're if you're if you're pure in heart you're going to be blessed but look you might they're going to be problems in life that come with that but with that as well being around genuine people isn't it refreshing when you're around people there's no ulterior motive they're just straight down the line they're just talking to you clearly they're you're not thinking what are they trying to get what they're trying to dig me out are they trying to wind me up are they trying to just slip in a little insult here and there trying to you see when someone's trying to gear a conversation you had that before you have people that try and gear it this certain way to then get out something off their mind or off their chest or something else that's annoying isn't it and and it's much nicer you just have people that just straight down the line that's what we want don't we and that's what we want to aspire to be like yeah pure in heart verse 9 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of god okay so aren't peacemakers viewed as a good thing in the world though what about the un peacekeepers yeah aren't they just peacekeepers or do they just go into countries and and take over land claiming to be i don't know i won't get political here but what about a real peacemaker a real peacemaker in the world discouraging fleshly anger between people we're in whatever circles they're in discouraging lack of forgiveness trying to mediate when it's not necessarily wanted or popular that's quite a tough job isn't it yeah it's quite tough to be like that and that's that's something that we should do in life yeah we should all be peacemakers we should all aspire to be peacemakers with those around us but there is there's a specific peacemaking that we're called to do isn't there yeah yeah is there not well turn to second corinthians five there's a peacemaking that we all get blessed for and while you turn i'm going to read daniel 12 3 which says and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever so there are those that shine as the brightness of the firmament they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever that sounds like a blessing that comes from a certain from a certain type of peacekeeping there a certain type of peacemaking second corinthians 5 18 tells us what that is and all things of god who have reconciled us to himself by jesus christ who have given to us the ministry of reconciliation reconciliation is making peace between god and man isn't it it's making peace between god and man we're given that job that job of reconciliation and that job's not always popular either is it okay being a peacemaker just in a fleshly sense isn't always popular and being god's peacemaker in the world is not really a popular job yeah if you looked at it sometimes it is sometimes i've talked about this place that by the way i went to again tonight first door knocked that got an answer salvation this is like this is amazing i'm talking about last week as well they said they're just so happy so happy that you're knocking on their door trying to preach the gospel to that's pretty rare isn't it yeah most of the time they're not happy okay most of the time they're just kind of you know a lot of the time they're pretty angry yeah but look it's not a popular thing to do but we get blessed for it yeah firstly you're blessed you're saved yeah but secondly you're gonna get blessed in life for doing that yeah the bible's clear about that because it's a command to do that yeah he's saying here blessed are the peacemakers and that is the ultimate peacemaker you should be doing isn't it okay we do get blessed for it he said blessed are they which are persecuted after that sorry let's move on uh for sake of time verse 10 blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is a kingdom of heaven so blessed even though they're persecuted and it's one thing being persecuted when you're a little in the wrong yeah all of us here probably had times where maybe you've reaped some repercussions you've done something wrong you've been a bit rude or you've done something you know mean or you know something else you you've messed up a bit and then the repercussions come and you know it still can be hard to take can't it sometimes it's a it's a pretty valid punishment and you still that's hard yeah hard to take that punishment hard take those repercussions hard to deal with but it's a bit different isn't it when you don't deserve it yeah that's a lot harder to deal with isn't it but he said blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake so like i said he you know before even without obviously the blessings that come in life they're blessed again because they're saved okay so look even if you had to go through your whole life getting persecuted at every turn you're just weary you're tired of it you're getting it left right and center and for some christians it can feel like that at times can't it i'm sure there are men of god out there and men of god of the past that can feel like it's just time and time and time again but you know what that's still a blessing ultimately eternity because you're still going to heaven and not hell and you'll look back and you'll think even if you went through your whole life just getting persecuted look it would still be worth it it'd still be worth being saved wouldn't it you know no one's burning in hell going oh man i just you know i'm pleased i'm down here because i didn't want to get persecution for 50 years or whatever it is yeah look no one's saying that are they everyone in hell who's lifting up their eyes being in torments he's begging he's begging for if only someone could be sent to my brethren to my father's house for our five brethren it's that sort of thing isn't it from luke 16 where people just just are pleading in their heads for their family not to come into that place of torments and look look we're blessed we're blessed because we're saved and if we have to go through some righteousness sorry some righteous persecution some tribulation then so be it yeah so be it but but turn to first peter chapter four because when you think what jesus christ went through if we even go through a small amount what a testimony what an honor hey what a what an honor when you're getting persecuted when you feel like yeah i think i'm doing things all right for god here i think i'm i'm doing all right and i'm getting some grief and i'm getting persecuted and the devil sending his people in and you could think well what an honor what an honor to follow even slightly in the lord's footsteps right first peter four verse 12 says beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you many people are like i just can't work out i just don't know why this crazed pentecostals following me down the road screaming in my face yeah it's because you're out doing the things of god it's because you're living righteously it's because you're preaching the gospel you know i can't work out why you know these these muslims uh uh just won't let me get away you know and they keep you know inviting me into the house and not letting me leave you know that's sort of you get those muslims that tell you that don't you never go in their house what do you mean you will never leave yeah like skeletons of soul when it's in there from times past yeah don't go in the house yeah but but you're thinking why why the why the persecution i'll tell you what because you're doing the things of the lord aren't you you're doing the things of the lord it could be a lot worse worse than that why did my unsaved family hate me what did i do to deserve that what did i do to deserve that slander what did i do to deserve that why is my unsaved family treating me like that because you're you're doing the things of the lord yeah and and you're blessed for it you're being persecuted for righteousness sake why do all my mates at work why do all my workmates give me the cold shoulder they don't you know what what have i even done i'm i'm hardly doing anything different you know yeah okay so maybe i'm my language isn't blue maybe i'm not i hope not joining in with the jokes about the women and all that sort of thing but but i haven't really done anything to be hated have i yeah you have you know what it is it's being of the lord yeah it's because you're being persecuted for righteousness sake and you can think of a hundred different reasons well look at verse 13 there but rejoice rejoice in as much as your partakers of christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed you may be glad also with exceeding joy so obviously that's whether whether or not you die and go to heaven or we go through the tribulation and the rapture and and that's if if you if you do wow what what that's going to be something else but you're going to appreciate it that bit more aren't you if you did go through the tribulation but or even when you just go through the tribulation of life because you're going to go through tribulation that's why one of the many reasons a pre-trib rapture is such nonsense especially the argument of god's people wouldn't go through that what are you talking about you're promised persecution if you live righteous okay you are going to go through stuff yeah you are going to have hard times in life that's life but he says here he didn't just go well you know just just just put up with it deal with it he said rejoice be exceeding glad not just well turn the other cheek you get through it you know just just persevere rejoice yeah we should and look i'm not saying this from a point of look i'm rejoicing every time because that that's a challenge isn't it that's a challenge to rejoice and be exceeding glad when you go through things but we're told to do that so we should try to do that shouldn't we and look and like i said if you go through if you're going through stuff when you eventually when you eventually are in heaven whether it's whether you're raptured or whether you you die and go to heaven look you're gonna you're gonna appreciate it that bit more aren't you when you've been through this life when you've been persecuted when you've gone through it that's just the way it is you say if you know you're you're eating you know i don't know you're eating toast and butter every morning and you go down the cafe it's a treat yeah go down the cafe every day and it's nice it's nice it's nice when you end up at a posh restaurant you know it's you know it's depending on what you're dealing with yeah when you get like the good stuff at the end it makes a difference isn't it and if we never went through any persecution or tribulation if we never had to go through the tribulation the rapture is not going to have anywhere near that exceeding joy is it that we that it's going to have for those that have gone through that tribulation time especially that great tribulation time okay if you be reproach for the name of christ happier ye for the spirit of glory and of god resteth upon you on their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified so you're basically getting a little of of the same glory be happy but the key point is it's for the name of christ isn't it okay that's the key point it's it's for his it's for righteousness sake yeah it's for well doing verse 15 says let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody in other men's matters but you've got one hand murdering and then you've got on the other hand being a busybody i think being a busybody is not a good thing but regardless maybe he's going through just like look regardless of what it is point being yeah regardless of what it is that you're being persecuted for if you're reaping what you sow if you're getting chastised that's not persecution for christ that's not persecution for righteousness sake yeah being an idiot going out and being rude to people then getting persecuted when you're on the doors isn't persecution for righteousness sake yeah just to make that clear and in many other areas of life as well yet if any man suffer as a christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify god on this behalf so we shouldn't be embarrassed should we don't be embarrassed when you're going through stuff and we're going to go through stuff yeah don't be embarrassed don't be ashamed no don't because you'll have that well you know you know god's not really working in your life is he no no you're being persecuted for righteousness sake you're going to have to go through stuff yeah don't get conned by that sort of stuff don't get conned by there everything's rosy and sunshine and flowers people that ultimately are trying to make you feel a bit insecure about your life yeah okay look yeah we don't have to come in and bear our sins to all and bear our our our tribulation and our persecution everything else but but on the other hand look we all go through stuff in life you're going to go through stuff don't think don't don't think it a strange thing we saw at the beginning there okay go back to uh matthew five okay we're nearly done in case you're wondering if we're doing the whole chapter no we're not okay um otherwise that was quite a long introduction okay um right so so matthew five this is where jesus then says yes i'm talking about you guys he said verse 11 blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake now revile is to reproach to treat with a prosperous and contemptuous language and some would could say it's the same as railing that will be with a dishonesty and a lying there as well and we we can all get that can't we persecution you know being affliction harassment that sort of thing and look it's not always nice the lies are railing the slander that will come at times and the more you live for god the more that's going to come yeah and it's not pleasant but he says blessed are you when men shall do that to you yeah blessed happy you know blessed by god verse 12 rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted day the prophets which were before you now in first you have to turn back that bit first peter first peter 413 where we were peter said to he said in verse 13 but rejoice in as much as your partakes of christ's sufferings that when his glory should be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy jesus just said here rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted day the prophets which were before you i've got a feeling that peter's kind of plagiarizing jesus a little bit here you know but but oh he's making a good point isn't he he's making a good point he's making a strong point there a point that is a big challenge to all of us and the point is is to rejoice when you're in tribulation rejoice when you're in persecution for righteousness sake yeah rejoice be exceeding glad remind yourself of the rewards great is your reward not just smile it off not just put up with it he said rejoice and be exceeding glad it's reward time in heaven and and not just a little bonus is it great is your reward great is your reward and that look that could be that could be such a great great verse to just keep remind yourself of couldn't it great is your reward great is your reward remind yourself of that when you're going through it and you are going to go through it yeah remind yourself of it and and look why for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you and that's a good way look at it all you men and women out there living for god preaching the gospel you're modern day prophets you know that yeah yeah you're not going to be added to the bible like we said the other day but you are all modern day prophets yeah you're out there preaching the word of god to the heathen and you're going to get persecuted you're going to go through some stuff you're going to have some hard time like they did but you're all Isaiah's Jeremiah's Ezekiel's you're all Micah's Jonah's maybe keep away from the water and maybe even Hosea's no offense to any of the women here but uh maybe the women are Deborah's Anna's you know and and and the like and look look maybe even who do we talk about the other day um uh with his wife we talked about um Priscilla is it Priscilla Priscilla yeah maybe we've got some modern day Phoebe's a queer and Priscilla Priscilla was the wife there look some of you women there is look we're all modern day prophets here yeah whichever whichever you know whoever you want to look at model yourself on ultimately model yourself from the lord jesus christ but look maybe the kids here who could the kids be modern day huh david david is a youngster have to be a little bit older for a day with jesiah how about a jesiah you know i like jesiah because i only did take over the kingdom at eight years old but when he got old enough he broke down the house of the sodomites yeah i think it was at about 16 or 18 he started breaking down those houses yeah he knew who needed to be got away from that from what he wanted the house of god yeah yeah modern day okay i know he was a king yeah but you know we're all kings and priests aren't we yeah so look all of you here look look you're all modern day prophets yeah you're modern day prophets and so persecuted they the prophets which were before you and look you're going to get persecuted yeah but great is your reward in heaven yeah what an amazing thing that is great is your reward in heaven jesus said that we're blessed to rejoice and be exceeding glad and i'm going to finish up there and next week we'll go through a bit quicker but look there's some there's some great verses there aren't there i don't think we could have just skimmed through them some good truths there and um on that let's let's pray father thank you for a great chapter in the bible there thank you for for that those well just just those first sort of dozen verses and and the the many truths that we can get out of there the many just you know guidances for life showing how you know not only how blessed we are for for being saved how blessed we are for you know having the ability to have those attributes and and those attributes that you want us to work at having as well but also the blessings that we get in life for for for living how you want us to um for living in those ways for a bit for being the sorts of people that you want us to be help us to do that and not to conform to the world help us to to be more like you want us to be lord to be more like the children that you want us to be and we we pray that you help us to to you know go go on with the rest of the week now like that thinking about those verses thinking about those you know the the blessings that come from living righteously but also uh think about the blessings that come from persecution as well when it's persecution for righteousness sake help us not to be ashamed help us to to rejoice and be exceeding glad help us to remember that to to keep that written on our hearts and help us to to to just go through you know through those times like that with with that truth with that reminder of those rewards in heaven and lord we pray that you help us to all get home safely get back safely for the last sunday service in in south end in jesus name we pray all of that amen