CHRIST'S ROADMAP FOR LIFE

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the humble,
for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs." Matthew 5: 3-10 (CSB)

Notice that He gives the Beatitudes in a logical order of transition.

First, see the downward cycle that is in one’s life. To be a Kingdom citizen, one must first realize that they are totally dependent upon God.  They are not capable of standing before Him on their own. They first come to an intellectual realization – their thoughts clear from the fog of sin’s hold. Then, when the true realization of this fact hits home, they are torn to their heart, over this dependence.  They come to the place of mourning over the fact that they are separated and unable to come to God. This is a downward spiral – know that you are unable to come to God, feel the pain of being unable, causing you to know deeper how you are unable, thus increasing the pain ----

Then, comes an upward movement When one comes to the end of themselves, they turn to the only One who can make a change – Jesus Christ. They give Him control of their life, and He changes them.  They develop meekness – having their strength under His control They let Him be Lord of their life.

And, when they have reached this point – then, and only then – they develop a severe hunger and thirst to be intimate with God. We find that nothing can satisfy like God. Everything that we once thought was important, we now see pales in comparison with our relationship with God.

When we come out of the downward spiral into the upward movement, we begin to see outward manifestations that God is working inside of us. Where before everything was “me-centered,” now we begin to focus on others. We begin to show mercy [compassionate treatment of or attitude towards an offender, adversary, etc., who is in one's power or care; clemency; pity]. Mercy is not getting what one deserves. To show mercy to someone, we are not giving them what we have the right to give. We are yielding our rights – so that others can learn what God has done for us.

We begin to be honest and trustworthy in all our dealings – deception is not an option. We do not lie – children who are trying to stay out of trouble. We do not attempt to deceive [mislead by deliberate misrepresentation or lies, to delude, to be unfaithful] anyone. This applies to family, friends, co-workers, strangers, enemies,

We begin to seek peace at all times. This is an outward manifestation of what is inside of us. When we are at peace with God, we can be at peace with others.

Finally, we stand strong for what is true. Jesus here states that we will be persecuted [pursued with harassing or oppressive treatment; harassed persistently, annoyed or troubled persistently.]  He was, so why should we be surprised when it happens to us. Whenever you take a strong stand, there are others who will fight against it. The stronger you stand, the more the opposition will come. When we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven – many will call us narrow-minded, they will harass and argue.

So, see the roadmap that Jesus places before us –

The downward spiral that leads to the upward movement

The upward movement goes into the outward manifestations.

The first four are Inward Attitudes.  The next steps are Outward Actions.

Kingdom Citizenship is worth the effort. 

·      It is the only way to have true blessedness.

·      It is the only way to be well off, rich, better than others, to be truly happy.