LIVE Later: BlessED 3

Sunday was our last night of the BlessED series.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this one because it is practical, challenging, and encouraging stuff for all believers- those new in Christ and those who have been loving Jesus for years.

The last 2 weeks Matt has taught almost exclusively from the Beatitudes, focusing on the "poor in spirit" and "meek" verses.  This week was a little different.  Unlike most of his sermons, this one was broken up into 2 parts:  BEING a blessing, and then recognizing our possession of every spiritual blessing.   I'll be honest.. the first part of his sermon made me a little uncomfortable.  Not in a bad way...but, in a "Oh snap..I do this" way. 
He asked how many of us bless our food, pray for safe travels before a trip, and pray before bed.  I do all of the above.  I pray fervently over Luke as a put him to sleep..not just about his future and his character, but that his sleep would be blessed. 
Matt wasn't saying that any of this is wrong, just that we need to be balanced in our prayers.  Whew.  Ok, I am all for balance.  As much as we ask for blessing, we need to be asking to BE a blessing.  "God, how can I bless You?" 
God warns about repetitive, showy prayers (dinner table, anyone?).  He wants the real stuff.  He wants our day to day hurts and questions and doubts and fears and laughs and hopes and everything.  He wants to bless our food and travels too... but he wants the real stuff even more than that.

I'm sure this message made a lot of us question how we pray..that can be uncomfortable.  I can't deny that some days my prayers look very similar to those from the day before.  Father deserves more than that.

Back to switching up our prayers from "bless me" to "bless You"... If we're made in His image, and He is the Blesser, shouldn't we be a blessing?  It's time to be honest with ourselves- are our prayers shallow, selfish prayers that rob God of any room to display His glory and power?  Are we robbing ourselves of the incredible purpose found in carrying out His will for us to bless others?

The 2nd part of Matt's sermon was some of the most raw preaching I've heard from him.  Powerful stuff:  We have already received every blessing!  We have already received the fullness of Jesus!  That fountain has been opened up and is flowing... We are in possession of every spiritual blessing.  When we got the Spirit, we got the blessing.  Some of us don't recognize it. Why?
We don't know about the blessings of God because we aren't in His Word.
1 Peter 1:3
Romans 8:17
John 1:12
Romans 8:37
Ephesians 2:6
John 14:2
All of these verses contain blessings and hope that we spend time asking for over and over again. 
Once we understand that we've already been blessed we can walk IN those blessings and fight FROM those blessings.
We need to recognize, tap into, and operate out of what He's already given us.
That way we're always ready to BE a blessing to others.
All good stuff.  But it got better.

Matt asked this.

How can we expect to walk in & experience the blessing of God when we barely believe in the Blesser?

Whoa. It was like the air was sucked out of the room.  There it is.  We are an intellectual generation trying to figure everything out.. we seek and search and question and doubt and wonder and dream.  At the end of the day, a choice HAS to be made.  Then and only then can we begin to move forward in our faith and recognize those blessings.

I won't try to recreate what Matt said.. But, he loves Jesus and desperately wants our students to know the Jesus that he knows.  So many miss out.  So many never encounter and get to know the True Savior King.  Because, once you know King Jesus it is incredibly hard to go back to anything normal or mediocre.

Anyone who was at LIVE this week knows that something shifted.  After service students were getting to know God on their own.. there was no emotional, fabricated altar call.  It was just people communicating with their Savior and taking a step of getting to know Him.  I'm still blown away by the texts and messages I've gotten from students who finally came to terms with some stuff.  I'm thankful for students who are after authentic faith and deep relationship with Jesus.  This is an exciting time to be alive!

Father God, thankyou for Your Word and for every spiritual blessing you have already given us.  Forgive us for not recognizing and activating those promised blessings.  Help us to exemplify Your nature of being a blessing to others.  We want to know You deeply.  Thankyou for Your Holy Spirit that comes in to restore and empower us.  We love You. Amen.

LIVE Later: BlessED 1

This week my husband preached on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, otherwise known as the Sermon on the Mount.  For the next 2 weeks we'll continue studying some different ideas found in Jesus' sermon that have to do with what blessing is, what it isn't, what brings it, and what repels it.

Our first focus is in verse 3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."
What is it to be truly poor?  Impoverished. True poverty is a lack or shortage of necessary things (money, food, shelter).  Those who find themselves in this situation must rely on the help of others.  That help might come in the form of government aid, the church, family, food banks, etc.  In an age of "first world probs" many of us have never experienced true poverty.  This verse is easily misunderstood or even overlooked.
 Jesus is saying that to inherit the kingdom of Heaven you must recognize the impoverished state of your soul and be dependent on and desperate for the help of the Holy Spirit.

In Luke7:36-50 Jesus is eating with some Pharisees when a woman (we can only assume she had been a prostitute) came in and began weeping, anointing Jesus' feet.  At this, the Pharisee questioned Jesus for allowing the woman to touch him.  Uhoh.
What does Jesus do?  He tells a parable.  We all know it:  2 men owe money- 1 man owes a substantial amount more than the other.. both debts are forgiven.  This is a huge deal if you pay attention to context:  in Jesus' time, you were imprisoned until you were able to repay the debt.  Problem: how could you earn money to repay the debt if you were imprisoned?  Exactly.  Life-sentence.
So, both men have had their debts forgiven, thereby avoiding life in prison.
Jesus asks, "Which of them will love the moneylender more?"
Simon responds, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
Jesus then brings it all home, in case the Pharisees missed it: He points out that she washed his feet with her tears and anointed him with priceless perfume while the Pharisee didn't even greet Him with a kiss (a big deal at this time in history).
She loved Jesus more because she was aware of the debt that had been forgiven.  The Pharisees had yet to see that they had a debt that needed to be forgiven.

Your sin, no matter how little or how much, gets you the same punishment as every other sinner.

To be poor in spirit, like the woman in Luke 7, is to remain aware of the debt you once owed that has been forgiven.  To be poor in spirit is to be aware of how much we desperately need God.
Paul called himself the "chiefest of sinners."  He was poor in spirit which meant he was fully empowered by God's blessing.

The Pharisees walked in spiritual pride, unaware of their wretchedness and unable to accept the free gift of forgiveness.  If you are spiritually prideful you cannot experience God's grace and blessing.
In order to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ you have to know you need a Savior!

God, help us to remain poor in spirit.  Thank you for loving us freely and without limit!  Thank you for your work on the cross that allows us to experience debt-free forgiveness.  Thank you for your blessing.  Tuck this Word into my heart so that I never forget the revelation.  Amen.

LIVE Student Ministry meets on Sunday nights at 6:30 at Church Alive in Fuquay Varina, NC.
Church Alive's weekend services are Saturday nights at 6pm and Sunday mornings, 9am and 11am.

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