Brendan Mc Crossan
Anew look at the Beatitudes from God’s “TheperspectivesermonontheMount”
“The sermon on the Mount” Brendan Mc Crossan Copyright’ 2-08-2012 One
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down. {Blessings}
Jesus' disciples gathered around him, 2 and he taught them: 3 God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven!
I am going to break down the beatitudes to show that they are spoken to you by Jesus who knowswhatheistalking aboutand to showyou theresultsofobeying them.God blessesthose people who depend on him and don’t depend on this world to provide for them. Are you depending on God alone to supply all your daily needs? Are you depending on him for your car, your home, your job, your food, and his help in every situation? Is he the only source that you depend on, or are you self sufficient? ‘Your attitude’ towards these things show whom you depend on, do you look to the world to supply your car, your food and drink, do you look to the state to supply your needs or is ‘your attitude,’ only God supplies all my needs whether he uses the state to do so or this world to do so does not make a difference to us, it is the fact that we depend on him if everything we have is taken off of us. Right now you may be well off but that could change in a day, as many in this present time are experiencing, people with businesses are losing them, the economic climate has collapsed in on itself and the banks fraud and cheat and the world has gone into recession. Does this affect you? Even if the world falls down around you are you still unaffected by what happens? Is your attitude God takes care of me no matter what happens in this world. Do you believe with all your heart that God blesses those who depend only on him and that they are rewarded because of their attitude? 3 God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven! Depending on God shows that you belong to the kingdom of heaven; it is awesome to think that we human beings belong to the kingdom of heaven, we live on earth but we are not from it any more, we are citizens of heaven, and we need to realise God blesses us with all he desires to bless us with. Belonging to heaven brings with it blessings, we are being blessed every day
Let’s take a fresh look at the beatitudes, and apply it to yourself today to ‘your attitudes’ not the, ‘be-attitudes’ but ‘your attitude,’ towards God. Matthew 5-1 Contemporary English Version (CEV) The Sermon on the Mount
A new look at the Beatitudes from God’s perspective
God blesses those people who have a humble attitude who are not boastful in their own efforts, again in this scripture there is another blessing, in his sermon on the Mount Jesus showed that his Father and our Father pours out blessing after blessing. Christians have thought that the Sermon on theMount,thebeatitudeswasacorrection fromGodthey failedtoseetheblessings and the promises in this scripture. I cannot breathe by my own will because I discovered a few weeks ago that God holds my breath in his hand, I have since acknowledged this to God and thank him for my daily breath, never mind thanking him for my daily bread, but even more important to me for my daily breath.
Two 4 God blesses those people who grieve. They ‘will’ find comfort!
Daniel 5:23 Amplified Bible
But the God in whose hand your breath is and whose are all your ways
Three 5 God blesses those people who are humble. The earth ‘will’ belong to them!
of our lives because we belong to the kingdom of heaven, wonderful, it shows us how much he loves us, what a Father we have.
Job-12:10-New-International-Version
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
God blesses those people who grieve; they ‘will’ find comfort! That is a promise in this scripture, God blesses those people who grieve, who are saddened, and this does not necessarily mean that someone has died, but someone who grieves. Like a mother or father who grieve because their son or daughter reject the lord and go their own way into this world turning away from their parents, or a woman who grieves because her husband is cheating on her and she is trying to live like Jesus and forgives him daily for all his infidelity. And it also means for those who have lost a loved one, God promises they ‘will’ find comfort, not they might find comfort but ‘will’ find it. God blesses them with his own comfort, his tenderness and love and compassion helps them to get through their time of grieving, they “will” find comfort not might but ‘will’ be comforted by him and by others who love them.
Not only is our breath in his hands but all our ways are in his hand, there is nothing we can do by our own efforts all is by grace from God our Father. We must acknowledge that we can’t even breathe without his willing it and we cannot do anything without his willing it; we have and are nothing without his will, there is a humbling thought and attitude to hold, it will always
Four 6 God blesses those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink. They ‘will’ be given what they want! Again God makes a promise to bless those who obey him who love him more than life itself. Those who want to obey him he says, it does not say those who obey him always, but those who want to obey him; he knows our weakness and the spirit is willing but the flesh side of us is weak. He knows those who want to obey him, those who consider obedience to God more important than food and drink, in other words who want to obey him because of their intense love for him. And his promise is they will be given what they want! That’s some promise if we believe God, if we are to take Jesus at his word then he is telling us that because of our great desire to obey God he will give us what we want. Do you realise that Jesus didn’t put a limit on what you want and he says God does not either, God desires to bless us exceedingly; extravagantly with an over abundance and he did not limit what you want, there is no limit set down by God to what you want, he simply says they will be given what they want, Want a new car? They will be given a new car, want a new house? They will be given a new house. The limit has been place upon God by us, we are to fearful to ask for what we really want, either through unbelief or whatever causes us to ask for only little things, we do not realise that God is an awesome God who owns everything on this planet, no man owns anything, he may think he does but when he dies he cannot take a single thing with him, not even his grave clothes. If you want to obey God more that you want a big feed or drink you will be given what you want. If your hunger and thirst is for God then you will be given what you want. No matter what way you may try and look at this word from Jesus mouth it still ends up the same, if you want to obey God with all your heart, you will be given what you want, it is as clear as crystal. The problem with you is do you believe what Jesus said?
Matthew-21:22 New-International-Version
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
keep us humble in everything if we keep it in remembrance, and it will bring with it a blessing ashiswordsays. 5Godblessesthosepeoplewhoarehumble.Theearthwillbelongtothem! 1 Corinthians 3-21-King James Version (KJV) 21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22 Whether Paul, or Apollo’s, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. Everything in this world is ours and it is confirmed when Jesus said, ‘’God blesses those people who are humble, the earth will belong to them,’’ and in 1- Corinthians 3-21-scripture he says it again confirming his word.
Five 7 God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy!
Bless means to consecrate you to himself, to approve of you, smiling down on you, to exalt you, to a higher level for example, it also means to sing your praises, to applaud you, to pay tribute to you, for a job well done, for example; ‘well done my good and faithful servant!’ it means to be in God’s favour, so he can shower down his goodness to you every day. If you show mercy to those who don’t even deserve it God will shower down mercy on you when you need it, Mercy is the nature of God, it is his persona, his personality, whom he is; mercy is ‘what’ God is, love shows mercy to those who don’t deserve mercy, just like we didn’t deserve his mercy for our sins, but he showed mercy anyway because of ‘who’ he is, and he expects us to be merciful as he is merciful, and rewards those who show mercy when mercy is hard to hand out.
13 For to him who has shown no mercy the judgment [will be] merciless, but mercy [full of glad confidence] exults victoriously over judgment. When you show mercy to others, when it comes to the time when you need mercy as on the day of Judgement, you will be shown mercy. That is a promise from God. God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy! Six 8 God blesses those people whose hearts are pure. They will see him!
God blesses peoples who hearts are pure who see only goodness in everything, and he promises they will see him. What a wonderful promise, those whose hearts are pure will see God, well we children of God have had our hearts made pure by Jesus and by God because from the beginning God decided that we would be holy in his sight and this was from before he even made this world we live in right now; Ephesians-1-4. The Holy Spirit was given the task of cleansing our hearts so that we would see God face to face and we could come into
If you show mercy, mercy will be shown to you, if you do not show mercy to others who need your mercy then God help you when you stand before God to be judged, for you will receive no mercy, and remember that this scripture once again promises a blessing on your life. When God blesses you that means he is showing his favour to you, what does bless actually mean?
James Amplified2 Bible (AMP)
Are you being badly treated by the people of this world or even by Christian’s when you try and share the truth in the word of God? Do Christian leaders disparage and try and discourage you because they don’t believe what you share, and they leave you out of their fellowship circle. I have suffered at the hands of Christian leaders many times over the last thirty five years, I have forgiven them of course and I only say this so that you also will know if you are involved in a healing ministry or even a strong ministry, people get jealous, and some go to
Seven 9 God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children!
How different this version makes the Sermon on the Mount, it gives a greater understanding of the mind of God and of the love God has for us. Instead of saying, ‘blessed are the peace makers they will be called children of God.’ It is saying, ‘God blesses those who do their best to bring peace’ and the peace he is talking about is not peace in this world because he says in scripture there is no peace in this world, he is talking about the peace between his creation and himself, God blesses those who bring people to God to experience his wondrous peace. Those who make peace between others and him are the peacemakers. It is not the people of the world who try and bring nations together because scripture says, ‘there will be wars and famine and other things happening in this world because this world does not know peace with God their creator.’ It is the people who go preach the gospel of peace with God that is the peacemakers. These people are the true peacemakers; these are the announcers of God’s peace between them and him!
Eight 10 God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom of heaven.
God’s presence assured of a glad fatherly welcome. Let heaven fill your thoughts take no thought of this world because it is passing, think thoughts like ‘God is blessing me,’ ‘he is healing me’ ‘he has delivered me from death,’ ‘he has given me eternal life,’ ‘he has given me this world to use for his glory,’ ‘life and even death are my servants,’ ‘he has justified me by his death and resurrection,’ ‘he gave me right standing with Father God,’ and ‘he washed me clean and made me holy just like himself,’ that is the blessings that I have through Jesus, my heart has been made pure by Jesus and is continually kept pure by the Holy Spirit cleansing us with the blood of Jesus, we will see him for sure and are already sitting with him in the heavenly realms with, and in, Jesus.
People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.
The leader of this prayer meeting often made my life miserable as he kept at me telling me not to pray with people as God told him, ‘he would never use me for healing people,’ even when people were healed and came to testify of their healing at the prayer meeting, saying I prayed with them or their family member, not even when a crippled friend of his who was in a wheelchair for over fourteen years walked into the prayer meeting and walked up two flights of stairs unaided, he still tried to stop me praying with people, and sometimes my response to this man was not very Christian.
At the next prayer meeting the terrorist’s sister came in and threw her arms around me thanking me for the miracle God worked, and told everyone there of God’s miracle. Afterwards I was told I was never to pray for anyone again in the prayer meeting, not for healing or for anything, so I started going to people’s homes as they asked and God began healing those in need of a miracle, and that was the beginning of my ministry.
Not all want to see people blessed by God in ministry, the enemy uses their jealousy or disbelief to get at the people praying for the miracles, so don’t think that you will have a great support of ministry folk behind you, jealousy is the devils best friend. But this is a great ministry to be in and nothing the enemy can do can take away God’s great glory when he heals people, it is worth all the hassle.
extreme lengths to try and stop you. One man in particular made my life miserable, he was the leader of the first prayer meeting I went to, and when I used to listen to the leaders talk they talked about we should be seeing signs and wonders happening and we needed the baptism in the Holy Spirit to receive gifts from the lord, they talked about how wonderful God was, and so I hungered for this God that I didn’t know up until now, and that I could receive his gifts especially his gift of tongues and healing and miracles. So I went after God seeking these gifts and I got them. Then one time a lady asked for a prayer for a miracle, her sister was caught in a car with two men and they were all terrorists, they had a bomb and guns in the car, they were all caught red handed, and subsequently were all given long jail sentences. This lady asked if anyone would pray with her for her sister’s release, she needed a miracle, and the whole prayer meeting went silent, no one spoke for a long time as she pleaded with them to pray for a miracle as only a miracle would get her sister released. I sat there in bewilderment, why didn’t one of these leaders say they would pray or that the prayer meeting would pray for a miracle for her sister. Then I could stand it no longer and I blurted out, ‘if you need a miracle then I will pray for you afterwards and God will grant it to you.’ at that she sat down and the meeting continued. When the prayer meeting ended I went to her and stood over her and prayed, “Father we need a miracle, this woman’s sister is as guilty as sin she was caught with guns and a bomb in the car, and we ask that first of all you forgive her, and then have her released, Amen” about four weeks later this terrorist woman was suddenly released, no reason that I can remember was given but she was released nevertheless.
Nine 11 God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me.12 Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven.
11 God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me.12 Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. The Sermon on the Mount was a positive message from Jesus talking about the many blessing that belongs to us because we belong to him. He says we will have a great reward in heaven, and that we are being blessed at every turn, because he loves us.
Here is another great promise from God; “he will bless you” when others insult ‘you’ or make a laugh of ‘you’ calling ‘you’ words, like bible basher, religious nut, or freak and much more, God says be excited and be happy because you know when others make a mockery of you, you are the one being blessed by God, so let them mock and ridicule you, and let them do it as often as they like, you are being blessed every time they open their big mouths and ridicule you even to others behind your back, you are the one who is receiving a blessing from God, so this is a reason to be excited and happy about, and you need to keep this in your mind all the time you need to keep reminding yourself that God is blessing you behind your back as they mock you behind your back, and when they tell lies about you, and they will, even Christians will do this, ridicule you behind your back or even make a laugh of you in front of others because you belong to Jesus. Remember the ones who mock and ridicule you are those who are probably going to hell to join the enemy in that lake of fire, while you are being blessed because of them. You are the one who is getting a great reward in heaven. Isn’t it great that others insult us to our faces and make a mockery of us; this is a great time of rejoicing and being happy? What a God he is changes the curses and mockery and insults to blessings for us Wow what a God he is he turns everything to good for those who love him. This is exciting times to be in, times of great blessings because others insult us, and we are blessed because of it, I never thought of it like this before. So when your family member insults you and make you look like a fool in front of others or to your face you are the one who is being blessed by God because of it. This would nearly make me say, ‘go on insult me because of Jesus,’ ‘I love it’ ‘because you are getting me even more blessings,’ what happiness we have when others do this to us.
There was a time many years before I became a Christian when I didn’t like the Sermon on the Mount scripture probably because I never realised that it was a message of blessings and promises, I thought it was a message about being poor; now I am very excited when I read it, I see it as a continuation of the last few books I have written as to the “Extravagant Love of
AmenGod.”
Most Christians don’t realise this promise from God they feel dejected when others insult them especially if it is a relative or family member, but this is not a time of dejection but a time of rejoicing, you are not the only ones that go through this rejection and insults, every person who belongs to God or Jesus suffers the same. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.