POST #4 - JESUS' SERMON ON THE MOUNT: BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT... KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LIVING IS TRANSFORMING

And God raised us up

with Christ and seated us with Him

in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..."

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Transformed people, living here on earth, make their home in the "Kingdom of Heaven", according to Matthew, and "...in Heavenly Realms or Places" according to Ephesians. Those are the only scriptures where those two terms are used.

JESUS took the form of a baby when HE came to live on the earth. During the short 33 years that HE lived on this planet, HE did a lot of teaching. GOD, THE FATHER...GOD, THE SON...and GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT had designed earth to be a blessing to all involved. Over the years, mankind had a lot of difficulty understanding how to lead a life of blessing. So, one day, JESUS taught HIS disciples about what a blessed life would look like. Many scholars believe that this is the place where CHRIST's Sermon on the Mount happened.

In Matthew 5, the first part of JESUS' Sermon on the Mount, JESUS speaks what we call the BE-ATTITUDES. These foundational principles of Christianity could be accurately called the BE-JESUS verses.
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I'm going to list them for you in abbreviated form, only noting the verses that have the specific promise of the "Kingdom of Heaven".

1. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are those who mourn
3. Blessed are the meek
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
5. Blessed are the merciful
6. Blessed are the pure in heart
7. Blessed are the peacemakers
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
9. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Life is a mess!  It's a dark world out there!  You want to live above it all right now?  In heavenly places?  In the kingdom of heaven?  It's possible!

Did you know, my friend, that if you live this way, you will live THE BLESSED LIFE!   While on this earth, you will be the flavoring of choice and a light in the darkness.

• Verse 13 "You are the salt of the earth.
• Verse 14 "You are the light of the world.

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BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT,

FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN...

At some point, each of us must learn that "life is not all about me...it's about GOD..."

We change from selfish to SELFLESS.

~BLESSED~

...OH, THE JOY!