Blessed of the Lord

Scripture:
 Psalm 32:1-2 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (NKJV)
 Psalm 32:1-2 “Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean. 2Count yourself lucky—GOD holds nothing against you and you’re holding nothing back from him.” (The Message Bible)

Introduction:
 How blessed we are to have the privilege of coming into relationship with Father God. The word blessed means fortunate, supremely happy, highly favored, enriched with blessings, spiritually prosperous, well spoken of, holy, sacred, venerated, honored in worship, worthy of praise, that which possesses the quality of what God considers to be the highest good.
Although the Message Bible calls us lucky in these verses, the truth is that it’s not luck but the grace of God being ministered to us. Therefore how happy we can be that we get a new start in life and because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ there are no sins being held against us. We are completely free to experience everything God has for His chosen people. I call that being blessed. We who were once enemies of God have now been brought into special favor with Him.
 Romans 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

I. To be blessed is to experience true happiness.
A. When we come into the Kingdom of God, we begin a transformation in our character that propels us into God’s blessings. Jesus said it this way.
John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
B. The beatitudes in Matthew five tell us that as we allow these Kingdom qualities to operate in our lives, we pass through the very doors that lead to supreme happiness.
C. As we represent God in the earth we come more and more under the fountain of God’s outpoured favor and care and are thus enriched with blessings.
Proverbs 12:2a “A good man obtains favor from the LORD,”
Proverbs 14:35a “The king’s favor is toward a wise servant,”
1. Joseph is a good example of a man who represents God’s Kingdom and how God blessed him as a result.
Genesis 39:5 “So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.”
2. Only good comes from the blessing of the Lord.
Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”

II. Walking out the beatitudes.
A. Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
1. Charles Finney said to be poor in spirit was “To have a realizing sense of our spiritual state.”
2. He further stated that it meant to have “a conviction that we are shut up to faith in Christ as the only possible way of obtaining help.”
3. Once we realize this, power to move in kingdom authority is released into our lives.
B. Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
1. To mourn in this sense is to be truly sorry for your sins and failings before God.
2. His promise to us is that He is always faithful whenever we repent. (I John 1:9)
3. Cooper P. Abrams III illustrates it this way.
A husband in an unguarded moment makes a statement to his wife that is cruel and hurting. He immediately knows his wrong and because of his love for his wife is grieved that he has hurt her. His spirit is down and he wishes he had not make the statement. He mourns in his spirit over his wrong doing. He then with deep humility goes to the love of his life and asks for forgiveness. The wife then freely gives forgiveness because of her love for her husband. Then comes reconciliation and peace. Think for a moment that if the husband or wife would let pride keep them from asking for or giving forgiveness. You see the mourning over a wrong that was committed brought happiness.
Bible-truth.org
4. We also have many wonderful promises that no matter what causes us to mourn we will be comforted.
C. Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
1. “Meek” in this verse means mild or humble, not only in their dealings with the Lord, but in their dealings with those of the world.
2. The expression, “the meekest horse on the track” is a reference to the one who is most under control and discipline and therefore is most likely to win the race.
3. Moses was called the meekest man on the earth and notice what he achieved under the guiding hand of God. (Numbers 12:3)
4. The “meek” do not strive or stir up dissent in the house of God or with their neighbors or co-workers.
Psalm 37:11 “But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
5. Those persons meek, mild or humble enough to allow God to lead them in their lives and ministry will move into a place of authority with Jesus Christ. (Here is where prayer becomes so valuable.)
6. As God’s people we can begin to claim our cities and take territory that has been under Satan’s dominion.
D. Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
1. What is it that we set our hearts and minds on and give our time and energy to? Is it wealth, fame, prestige, position, power or the Kingdom of God?
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
2. How hungry and thirsty are we?
A book written by Major Vivian Gilbert called The Romance of the Last Crusade (N.Y.: D. Appleton & Co., 1927) describes the British liberation of Palestine in World War I. Dr. E.M. Blaiklock related part of it in a magazine article: "Driving up from Beersheba, a combined force of British, Australians and New Zealanders were pressing on the rear of the Turkish retreat over arid desert. The attack out-distanced its water-carrying camel train. Water bottles were empty. The sun blazed pitilessly out of a sky where the vultures wheeled expectantly."'Our heads ached,' writes Gilbert, 'and our eyes became bloodshot and dim in the blinding glare.... Our tongues began to swell ... our lips turned a purplish black and burst ....' Those who dropped out of the column were never seen again, but the desperate force battled on to Sheria. There were wells at Sheria, and had they been unable to take the place by nightfall, thousands were doomed to die of thirst. 'We fought that day,' writes Gilbert, 'as men fight for their lives.... We entered Sheria station on the heels of the retreating Turks. The first objects which met our view were the great stone cisterns full of cold, clear, drinking water. In the still night air the sound of water running into the tanks could be distinctly heard, maddening in its nearness; yet not a man murmured when orders were given for the battalions to fall in, two deep, facing the cisterns.'"He describes the stern priorities: the wounded, those on guard duty, then company by company. It took four hours before the last man had his drink of water, and in all that time they had been standing 20 feet from a low stone wall, on the other side of which were thousands of gallons of water."'I believe,' Major Gilbert concludes, 'that we all learned our first real Bible lesson on that march from Beersheba to Sheria wells.'" Blaiklock added, "If such were our thirst for God, for righteousness, for His will in our life, a consuming, all-embracing, preoccupying desire, how rich in the fruits of the Spirit would we be" ("New Light on Bible Imagery: Water," Eternity [August, 1966], pp. 27-28).
3. Hunger and thirst are the keenest of our appetites and here we are promised fulfillment in our desire for righteousness.
Isaiah 55:1-2 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.”
E. Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
1. To be merciful is to look beyond the faults and mistakes of others and give them another chance.
2. God is a God of second chances (thirds, fourths, fifths, His mercy endures) Think of Jonah, David and Peter.
3. How blessed it is to receive mercy from God and even from those around us. Otherwise we would live as outcast.
F. Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God”
1. When God cleanses us of our sin, we are made white as snow, clean before the lamb with nothing to separate us from the Father.
Isaiah 1:18-19 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;”
2. This blessing is so powerful. It is the ability to see God move by His Spirit.
a. This is a recognition of what God is up to in our lives.
b. We recognize when God moves in circumstances around us.
c. We begin to see the answers to our prayers.
G. Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
1. We are being conformed to the image of the pattern son and He was a peace maker.
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
2. We have been given the same ministry of reconciliation.
II Corinthians 5:18-19 “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
3. Peace is more than an absence of malice. It is the well-being and prosperity that results from being totally restored to relationship with God and fully committed to His purpose for our lives.
H. Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
1. Those standing fast in the face of persecution can totally depend on all the resources of heaven in their lives.
2. Even in the Lord’s Prayer we see heavenly resources released as we seek His face.
3. Heaven’s resources were in Christ Jesus and He was an overcomer granting us the ability to overcome.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

III. The revelation of God’s blessing upon our lives.
Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
A. We begin to see life’s answers in the Word of God and fall in love with its teachings.
B. We discover the truths that are contained in the word and we have clear perception concerning its meanings.
C. We get daily food for our lives.
D. We receive the strength to stand in the face of every strong wind that blows upon our lives.
E. We will find profit in the work of our hands.
F. What we accomplish for God will not be destroyed and its reward will not be taken from us.
Matthew 25:21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’