Matthew 5:1-11 (#10.2021.05.30)

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:02

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance, and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi, and welcome to today's episode. As always, for

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:24

a deeper experience, you can go

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to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website at beholdingbibletruth.com, and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:47

If you haven't read about Ernest Shackleton and his, amazing journey to, to Antarctica, he wanted to be the first to discover the South Pole. He missed it. So he was putting together a group of men that he would take at least in and cross the entire continent. And he read an ad in the, London Times, which said something like, you know, long dark days and that, victory or at least, survival was not something to be sure of, but at the end, they could have glory. And he actually had 5,000 men who said yes. And, of course, not all of them went on the journey. And if you haven't if you haven't at least learned about the journey, you should because it was really god's faithfulness that preserved them through to the end. But the ad was an invitation to join him, and it was an invitation which didn't have a promised assurance about whether they would actually live or not.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:48

And so here we are in the book of Matthew, and Jesus takes his disciples along with an entire crowd, and they go up on the mountain, and he is proclaiming the, the kingdom of God. He is proclaiming the kingdom of God. And not inviting people in that same way, but more a proclamation. And so what's interesting is we wanna look at it kind of a in a in a block, the, the section known as beatitudes. If you've been a Christian for a while, you've probably been through this, a whole bunch of times. But at the top of your page there, I reference Matthew 423. And Matthew 423 talks about what Jesus is doing as he launches his ministry, if you will. Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:44

So he's teaching, proclaiming, that's a combination of the 2, and he's also what? Teaching, proclaiming, and what what else is he going to do? Teaching, proclaiming, and he's healing as well. Well, what's interesting if you go to Matthew 935, he says Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Literally, the same verse. Right? So you look at that. This is helpful in the sense as it's bookends. So what is happening in between here? What is happening in between, Matthew 423 and Matthew 935? Well, in Matthew chapter 5 verses 7, he is proclaiming. He's teaching and proclaiming. That's his sermon, Sermon on the Mount.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:39

Right? He's teaching and proclaiming. And then in Matthew 8 and 9, he is healings. Right? So there there are healings in here. So in 5 through 7, he's proclaiming the kingdom of god. And then in in 89, he is demonstrating the power of the kingdom of God. That make sense? So so when we look at this, we need to look at the the section because there are parts in here where you say, like, what does he mean? It's good to see this is an overall context where he is he is proclaiming the kingdom and he is healing. What's interesting is he's proclaiming. He's not.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:18

This is not an invitation. It is a proclamation. And here's what the difference is. He's not inviting people into the kingdom per se, and there's 2 there there's 2 kinds of people. Or, actually, there are 3 kinds of people. No. Maybe there's 4. Right? Just like when when he's born, it's the same thing.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:36

So we have the disciples who are near to him physically as he's proclaiming the kingdom. Then you have the crowd that's around them as well. Right? Then there's the religious leaders who are checking him out. Then there are the people who are are not even aware, that don't have time for him, don't care, not even interested. They're going on with their daily life. And each of them will encounter this in a different way. But this is the kingdom. He's proclaiming that kingdom of God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:05

And so inherently, there is not an invitation, but inherently there is. There is a decision that has to be made by every person. The disciples. Will I follow him? Right? Born again into this relationship, will I follow him? The people in the crowd, what are you gonna do with that? Where are you in terms of the kingdom of God, and where do you wanna spend eternity? Because it'll it'll either be the kingdom of God, the kingdom of light, or the kingdom of the enemy, the kingdom of Satan, and the kingdom of darkness. Either in intimate fellowship with God or forever separated from him. So it's not an invitation per se. It is a proclamation. But inherently in there, there will be the decision.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:52

And we said at the end of this entire section, if you go, to Matthew 7 verse 28, it said, when Jesus has finished these words, the crowds were they were amazed. But he clearly said in verse 24 of chapter 7, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them. So the point in here is there is inherently a decision which requires an action. Right? And he's first and listening depending on where they were, and today we're depending on you where you are, you'll make a decision. So we're gonna look at these beatitudes, and they follow the same idea. They're bookended, and then they are filled in the middle. Right? They're bookended, and they're filled in the middle. So let's read these out loud if we could.

Scott Keffer [: 00:06:48

Let's stand in reverence to god and his word. So we're gonna read inside the box. Are we ready? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see god.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:29

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who've been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The word of God. Thanks be to God. Lord. Yeah. So what do you do with these? Well, again, if you've been a a believer for a while, you've heard this before, you've been through this, well, it's well quoted, well preached upon, well taught upon. So what do you do with this? So let's look at it as a chunk, if you will.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:03

Right? So first of all, I put on there, it's not a means of salvation. Jesus is not talking about how you come to salvation or how you to become part of the kingdom, but these are realities underlying realities. When Jesus Christ reigns as king, god's authority is supreme. The reality is when Jesus Christ reigns as king and god's authority is supreme. So when he calls the disciples, he has a very simple phrase. It's a two word phrase. What is it? Which inherently has a suggestion beyond suggestion, which is who's leading? Who's in charge? Who's first? Who's the priority? Who's the center? Who's whose realities are my realities? And so if we look at this, right, he's kinda defining right? Blessed are the poor in spirit. So I put on there, the blessings of the kingdom of god are assurances.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:12

Right? So if you look at it, it begins and ends within the assurance. What's the assurance? Blessed. Blessed. Yeah. Both. You notice that. So it bookends. Theirs is underline, theirs is present reality.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:29

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So there are a bookend of assurances, and then it's packed in the middle with promises. With promises. So when Shackleton invited the men, he said he said, you know, to live through this was uncertain. He said, you can join me. There could be glory, but I can't I can't guarantee anything. Well, Jesus is speaking about the kingdom of God, and he's saying, here are the assurances. For those for those who are bankrupt in spirit, for those who are persecuted for my sake, theirs is the kingdom.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:13

It's a it's a present reality, and the promises are for sure. So he didn't say it's a maybe. He's promising them for sure. So look at there. He promises comfort. I mean, he'd like to be comforted. Then he promises an inheritance. You shall inherit the earth.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:37

Everybody wants an inheritance. Right? He promises satisfaction. Right? You'll be satisfied. He promises mercy. You'll receive mercy. He promises that you will see god, intimacy with god, and he promises eternal family. Right? You'll be called sons of god and an identity which cannot be taken away. So go through there and circle for you which are the top 2.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:08

Which are the top 2 for you? Or how many like the multiple choice answer, all of the above? Of course, all of the above. What's interesting of course, we wanna be comforted. Of course, we want an inheritance, but it's an eternal inheritance, the earth. Of course, we wanna be satisfied and have mercy. Who doesn't? If you go back to Exodus chapter 33, what I think, rarely stands out or gets people's attention. So Moses asked God so he's about to lead the people, and he says, for sure, go before me. Right? Go before me. If thy he says, if thy presence does not go with me, do not lead me up from here.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:52

But he also asked god to show him your glory. Right? Show show me your glory. He says in verse 13, if I found favor, I pray you, in your sight, let me know your ways so that I may find favor. Consider too that this nation is your people. Right? Exodus 33. Sorry. 33. 33.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:16

Then he says in verse 18, Moses says to god, I pray you, show me your glory. So show me your glory. And the lord says, I he says, I myself will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious, I'll show compassion on whom I'll I'll show compassion. But in verse 20, he says to him, you cannot see my face. Why? If any man no man can see me and live. And I think people read that and go, well, why would that be? Why would that be? And I've always said as an illustration, this is simply the same thing as saying so consider, if God if God were like the sun, if you got up close to the sun, what would happen? You would you couldn't even get within miles with you'd be consumed by the power. Right? The light would blind you. The heat would consume you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:22

God is the one who created the sun and all the stars. So he's saying, if I showed you my full glory, you would be consumed. There's no way that a creature can get near to the creator because of my power, my light would blind you and consume you. My holiness would overtake you. So he says to Moses, I I I can't do that. You no man can see me and live. So he says, go over there and I will show you my back. Here's the promise.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:55

Here's the promise. You will see god and not be consumed. So we tend to go over, oh, I wanna be comforted. I want an inheritance. I wanna be satisfied. I wanna see mercy. He says, no. This is you will you will be able to see me and not be consumed in my presence.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:17

You'll be able to come up to the sun directly. Imagine that, in the presence and not be consumed by its power. And lastly, the best promise of all, he said, you're not just gonna be able to see me, but you're gonna come into my presence and be the son or the daughter of god. And so you're gonna go from being my enemy, go from being separated. Right? Go from eternal condemnation to eternal satisfaction, eternal family, eternal identity. He says to his son, the lord Jesus, at his right hand, this is my son in whom I'm well pleased. Now he said, you know, imagine if he offered salvation. If you could if you could, be rescued from eternal punishment, eternal separation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:11

You would tell I mean, say that'd be a good deal. And if if if he rescued you and just said, just stay over there, I don't wanna see you again. That would still be the greatest of things because I would I would avoid eternal condemnation. But instead of that, he says, not only will you be rescued from your sin, but you will be in in intimate fellowship with me. And whenever I look at you, I'll say, this is my daughter in whom I'm well pleased. This is my son in whom I'm well pleased. No longer having to stay separated or at a distance. No longer to hide ourselves like Adam in the garden.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:46

No shame. But eternally, the favor of god, the smiling of god, the blessing of god upon us, that's what this is. He's saying that's the kingdom of god. It is eternal intimacy, eternal identity connected with him. So the kingdom of god is both a present reality and an infinite future fulfillment. So in in in Psalm 16, there is the presentness of this kingdom. He says in verse 5, the lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You support my lot.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:40

The lines for me have fallen in pleasant places. Indeed, my heritage, it's beautiful to me. This present and futureness of the kingdom. Oh, bless the lord. Verse 8, I've set the lord continually before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken today. There is that present reality to his kingdom. Therefore, my heart is glad, my glory rejoices.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:03

My flesh also will dwell securely, presently. However, this is not all there is. He says, you will not abandon my soul to shield, that is, eternally, nor you will nor will you allow your holy one to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life, and the promise, what, in your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forever. Pleasures forever. So there's a presentness and a future, but the future is infinite. And if you go back to first John so how is this gonna happen? How is this gonna happen? Because I don't see him clearly today, but he says you will see god.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:53

He says in in first John 3 verse 2, he says, beloved beloved, now we are children of god, present. That's present. Right? And it is not yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is. And not only here it is. Not only is he saying, you're not gonna see me and not live. You're gonna be see me and be made like me. It's the the fulfillment, the the ultimate transformation, the consummation of the promise that we will be children.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:32

We will be children. Isn't that cool? This is the kingdom of heaven. And then I put there, the kingdom is entered into by grace. By grace, you shall be saved through faith. Says this kingdom. If you go to John chapter 3. So they don't come anymore, but we used to get a knock on the door. Right? And then I would I would look outside, and there'd be the the folks with the suit coat on and the white shirts.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:11

Right? And they've got the little kingdom brochures. And I I I love to chat with them. They don't come anymore. I think that we have an axe on our door. I said, oh, you're here proclaiming the kingdom. Yeah. I said, that's so cool. I said, have you been born again? No.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:27

I said, well, you know, Jesus said, if you haven't been born again, you can't see the kingdom. How are you proclaiming a kingdom that you can't see? Well, the kingdom is coming. I said, well, unless you be born again, you cannot enter the kingdom. That's what he said in John 3. So he says to Nicodemus here. He says unless one is born again, chapter 3 verse 3, he cannot see the kingdom of god. And then and then Nicodemus says to him, woah. Wait a minute.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:59

How do you how do you get born? What what are you talking about? How am I gonna be born again? He says he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? Of course not. Truly, truly, Amin, Amin, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. That which is born of flesh is flesh. That was born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, you must be born again. So the end the entrance into the kingdom of god is a rebirth, a spiritual rebirth. So the kingdom is entered by grace. These these are these are not, means of salvation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:43

These are are the the evidence, if you will, the result. And we are when we live by faith. So it's entered by grace and lived by faith. By grace, you have been saved through faith and that not of yourself. It's a gift of god, not as a result of works that no man should boast. Hebrews 11:1 said, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The kingdom. The kingdom.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:19

So I said, here's some general observations about this. The kingdom of god is the fulfillment of pro prophecy, and it is the promised good news. It's the promised good news. So they would have known this. These were the promises. Right? It says in in Isaiah 61, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me. What? To bring good news to the afflicted, send me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the lord, the day of vengeance of our god, the good and the bad news of the gospel, to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes. It's a promise.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:07

The oil of gladness instead of mourning, mantle of praise instead of fainting, they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the lord that he may be glorified. This is the promised good news. No surprise here. He says this is what the kingdom looks like. I put on there, these are qualities that are manifested in the life of Jesus Christ. The quality is in the life of Jesus Christ, and they will be manifested in those who are in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ in you, the hope of glory. And this reveals god's character.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:50

This shows us what god loves and what god hates. 6 things which the lord hates, yet 7 which are an abomination to him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, and feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies and those who spread strife among brethren. There are things which god hates, and there are things which god loves. And these are just the the opposite, if you will, right, of the things that he hates. And this is the path to true inner and everlasting happiness. If you put into Google the way of happiness, the path to happiness, how to have happiness, there's almost a 1000000000 searches. Almost a 1000000000 searches and a 1000000000 answers on how to have happiness. Well, he's gonna later say in Matthew, right, in Matthew 16, he says in verse 24, he says to his disciples, if anyone wishes to follow me, come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:05

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And then he says, what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Sheesh. Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? How much would you pay for eternal salvation? How much would you pay? So he's saying he's saying, here's the path. In his right hand are pleasures forever. So we have this right? Inherently, he's saying, here's the kingdom of god and here's the world system. He doesn't say. He just says he's proclaiming the kingdom of god. So on the right hand side, I put the world system values.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:56

So cross out values and write the word promises. The world system promises. So what what are the promises? If you have this, then you'll have happiness. What are the what does the world system promise? If you have this, then you'll have happiness. If only you have this, then you'll have happiness. So let's have some. What are they? Wealth. If you have wealth.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:22

If you have enough money, then you'll have happiness. Then you'll have happiness. J Paul Getty said, you know, how much is enough? He was worth 100 of 1,000,000. He said, oh, just a little bit more. Just a little bit more. Right? So if you have wealth, if you have power, if you have power clearly, if you have be in power Fame? Fame. Yeah. If you have fame, definitely, if you have fame, of course.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:55

Famous people are are, are happy until they get it, and then, you know, probably one of the greatest guitar players of all time commit suicide because you have fame and not not it's almost worse. They said it's worse to get what you always think you wanted. Because if you're chasing it forever, you can say, well, if only I had fame, then I'd then I'd be really happy. Those who find it realize, oh, that doesn't do it. Even Tom Brady would say, it's not enough. Just one more. Just one more. Why? Because it wouldn't matter.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:30

He could have 15. He could have 15 Super Bowls. He could have 25 Super Bowls. It would never be enough. Never enough. What else does the world system promise? What's that? Beauty. Yeah. Beauty.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:44

1 of the the the marketing guys that I, learned under in business, actually, they were putting kiosks. This was many, many year years ago at malls, and they the the name of the program was the thin millionaire. And, I mean, if you can't if you can't be thin and millionaire, then you gotta be happy. Yeah. You got you got the 2 of the most important. Right? The the most important. Well, these are all promises tied up in fancy bows, and they are delivered now in HD fashion. Right? Regularly, right, we are bombarded in all different ways with the promises.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:30

They're really promises of the world system. Well, it's important to remember go to Ephesians 2, that it doesn't matter what channel you're tuned to. It doesn't matter what media you call up. It doesn't matter whether it's radio or television or podcast or articles or books or videos or Instagram or Facebook or whatever, there is someone you always say, who's in control of media? They'll say, now, you know, there's only 3 companies, I think, in control of all media. Actually, who's beyond that? So it says he says, you were dead, Ephesians 21, in your your trespasses and sins in which you formally walked. Where was that? According to the course of this world system. So there is a system in the world. He says, according to the prince of the power of the air.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:37

So so who is behind all media? All the messages? Yeah. Satan. His name is Satan. He's a fallen angel. He is an enemy of god, and he desires that he you would spend your eternity in hell with him. He desires for you not to be saved. Once you're saved, he he desires for you to go into neutral and do nothing with your life and chase the same fantasies that the world system offers. And you know what? They they're really attractive.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:14

He's really very good. He has the number one branding agency in the world because he packages them up really well. Right? How long how many of you thought to yourself, well, if only I weighed a little bit less. If only I was in shape, then I was right? Get in front of the mirror. If only I was if only I had a little I'll pull up my network. If only I had a little more, then I'd have peace. If I had few more bucks, if only I had just a little more. How many have thought that? If only I had.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:44

If only I had this. If only I had that. So I up I have compared the values in the kingdom of god and the values of the world system. Below values, you can write the word promises of the kingdom of god. Below values, because there are values in the kingdom and there are promises just like there are values in the world system, and you can write under values the word promises. World system promises certain things and it values certain things. So here's Jesus. Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:16

He's not asking you to agree or not agree. He's not asking you to like it or not like it. He's not asking you to decide or not decide. He's just saying this is the kingdom of god. This is what righteousness is. That's what he's gonna proclaim for for for these chapters here. These beatitudes are this is the kingdom. Those who mourn, right, will be.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:40

Those who are gentle. Those who are so he says the poor in spirit who mourn. Now how many, when you were young, say, if only when I grow up, I could be poor in spirit and mourn. When Hamani say, what are you talking about? Poor in spirit and mourn? How can I be blessed? That's happy? What are you talking about? He says, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice that they are saved by grace. It's a daily rejoicing that you're saved by grace. You did not earn your way into salvation. In fact, you are spiritually bankrupt.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:21

If he didn't call you out of darkness, you would be dead in your trespasses and sins. It's a daily rejoicing and it's an understanding I have complete inability to earn god's favor. And yet, we're not confused because we'll say in the protestant, you know, when he looks at you, he sees the righteousness of Christ. Well, don't be confused. He still sees your sin. Don't be confused. We think, oh, he sees the righteous. No.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:50

He also sees our sin. He longs for us to go through sanctification, which is the lifetime battle of falling and rising again. The righteous man falls 7 times and rises again. There is a battling with sin. So I put on there, there is a there is a, an informed grief, right, that we're saved, but at the same time, we still need to be have a grief over our sin because there's still rebellion and idolatry in our life. We're still susceptible to the messages of the world. How do we do that? Daily confession, daily cleansing, daily repentance, daily renewal, daily revival. How often should we do that? Only as often as you wanna be happy.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:43

I don't have time for the I don't have time for that daily stuff. I got my I'm pursuing my other stuff. What is the and then that in itself is a revelation of what we value. What do we always find time for? We all say in our weekly study, you know, people would, oh, I can't get there. I can't do this. I can't do that. I said, well, it that's the information that can feedback to you. This is what's important.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:08

We do we do what we wanna do. Everybody does what they wanna do. Everybody finds time for what they want. Isn't that right? Nobody's telling you what to do. You are indeed. So daily we decide, am I following him or am I following me? So he says the poor in spirit who mourn will be blessed. Really? And who seek to grow who seek to grow in Christ likeness. What is that? We could do word studies on what they are, but there it's we don't have to do deep word studies.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:45

Right? Gentleness, meekness, hunger, thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker. Again, we can do we can do studies on what the words mean. We can take a look at as but they are they are rep revelations about the the character of god, but it's also they're demanding that we grow in those characters. We grow in those characters. So at the heart of that, we gotta say, wait a minute. That's not really what the world values. It's really not what the world promises we'll get as happiness, but we struggle with that. I don't wanna be gentle.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:24

I wanna take control. I'll be in charge. And then he says, the poor in spirit who mourn, who seek to grow in Christ likeness, will be persecuted by the world system for the sake of righteousness for the sake of righteousness. So he doesn't say you're gonna be persecuted because you're a you're a Jewish Christian or because you, you know, because you beat people up or, you know, because your personality is annoying. He says you're persecuted for righteousness' sake, for the sake of righteousness. When you are righteous, you are persecuted. Jesus said don't be confused. Right? Don't be confused.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:12

The if the world hated me, it will also hate you. If it persecuted me, right, if the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you are of the world, the world will love its own. If the world but because you're not of the world, I chose you out of the world. Because of this, the world hates you. Slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted the son of righteousness, they will persecute you. All who seek to live godly will be persecuted.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:47

Don't seek persecution, but he said, it's likely that you will be in opposition to the world system. Well, okay. So if we were packaging up if coming to our church, we would say, Jesus, this is not a very attractive message. I think you need to just soften this up. If you're if you're gonna if you're gonna speak today from our stage, you can't say, like, don't do this persecution stuff. You wanna talk about happiness? That's okay. Blessing, favor. You wanna talk about dude, this is what I'm telling you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:21

You we have to package your message a little bit differently. You know? Leave out the mourning, poor in spirit. Right? Let's leave out the bookends. Can we do that? Leave out the poor in spirit, broken. Mourning. Oh, persecuted. No. But let's stick to the middle.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:39

Isn't isn't that what we've done? We've taken the message, and we've ripped the heart out of it. He says, yet yet yet you will be blessed. What? You will be blessed. That doesn't make any sense. You'll be blessed. How can I be blessed? How can I be blessed? I'm poor in spirit and I'm persecuted. He says joy. Barclay says, which has its secret within itself, joy which is serene and untouchable.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:17

Ain't that cool? Untouchable joy. Self contained joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life. How many want that? Yeah. I just if if jeez. If you could just change this, like, the message a little bit. I like the outcome. We're just gonna fix this up a bit. We're gonna run you through the marketing system.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:42

We'll change up your message a little bit. But wait. There's more. Well, what's interesting is Jesus was not inviting. Right? It wasn't an invitation. It was a proclamation. This is the kingdom of god. And everyone will decide.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:04

What do you wanna do with the king, and what do you wanna do with the king and his kingdom? What are you gonna do with the king, and what are you gonna do with his kingdom? Because he's not changing his kingdom for you and me. His kingdom is his kingdom, and the king is the king. The choice is whether to follow him or not. Blessed are the poor in spirit. So write down insight from today. Write down an insight application from today. What is an insight they'd like to share? Yeah. May the god of all mercy.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:45

May he bless you. May he keep you. May he cause his face to shine upon you. May he grant you his grace, his peace, his love, and his presence this week as you walk through the world. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:57

Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance, and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the bible and his son, Jesus Christ. Until next time. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time, may God bless you and keep you.