THE BEATITUDES
“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 meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”Matthew 5:1-12
When I first arrived at the Medium Security Unit at Pontiac CorrectionalCenter after twenty-three years of being housed in maximum security facilities, I attended my first Celebrate RecoveryInside meeting two days after my arrival.
I was instantly a fan because it felt so free and joyous, and I eventually threw myself wholeheartedly into the program. While C.R. is a Christ-centeredrecoverygroup where praise and worship music is part of the D.N.A. of the program, The Beatitudes are its foundation. C.R. quickly became my main way of worshipping and serving the Lord. And while C.R.ministry leaders will tell you that C.R. is no substitute for church, it did not stop CelebrateRecoveryfrom being my primary house of worship...Based on its foundation, The Beatitudes.
The Sermon On The Mount (the entire sermon can be found in Matthew, chapters5, 6 and 7,)was delivered by our Lord and Savior in front of what was possibly the largest crowd he ever spoke in front of, and is considered not only one of His greatest teachings but is considered one of the greatest speeches ever given. Ever. We hear a lot about how hated Jesus was; how reviled and persecuted He was, which is true. However, it is also true that despite what John Lennon said, Christ was and is, and always will be much more popular than the Beatles could ever dream of being on their best day. I must also note that John Lennon is dead, The Beatles have been washed up for over fifty years, yet Jesus is alive and His Gospel is everlasting...But back to my point: Jesus Christ was enormously popular and had a huge following. He was popular, polarizing, and sought after. He was whom everyone was talking about, and anyone who was near Him, or associated with Him basked in his glow and was pretty popular themselves. His disciples had a direct line to The Miracleman, had positions, influence; pride, and arrogance could have easily seeped in from all the attention they were getting. Everything was being thrown at them...money, opportunities to do their own thing, advice about what they were doing right or wrong. People who had their own agenda tried to appeal to the egos of the disciples. The temptations that exist now existed back then, also. So, before Christ delivered what was supposed to be His biggest sermon in front of one of His biggest crowds, Christcollected all of the disciples, sat down in front of them and explained to them just how much life was about to change for them. It is telling that when Christ did this, He sat with the disciples surrounding him rather than making them sit as He stood and dictated to them, but that was the nature of our Lord: Humility.
Christ told them that following Him may afford them great power and popularity now, but hard times were coming, and if they did not live by the words He was about to deliver, they could find themselves using (or being used by others) the message of God for personal gain.
When Christ starts out His sermon, that is the theme he starts with: Rather than seeking fame or fortune, expect adversity and persecution, because experiencing and overcoming such trials and tribulations in the name of the Lord will allow one to receive his true reward in heaven, rather than the fleeting rewards that t his world has to offer. It is why every verse in the Beatitudes has a heavenly reward for enduring an earthly hardship or overcoming an earthly temptation: “The poor in spirit will be given the kingdom, ” or “ the meek shall inherit the earth”...” the hungry shall be filled ... ”Christ is telling us that Christians will be tried and persecuted, and is less telling us to strap up ... it is an “ occupational necessity.”
There is a saying I have heard all of my life when Christians can explain when something has happened...they (we) will say“the Lord works in mysterious ways”. That is true. But so does the Satan.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”John 17:14-19
That is the prayer of Jesus for the believers to come after Him. He prayed this prayer knowing that the world follows Satan’s agenda. And if Satan is the enemy of every Christian, that makes the world our enemy, too. Satan’snumber one tactic is to attack the ego and appeal to the pride of man, and when we do not stick to the moral principles of the Beatitudes, even a good Christian can be used(unwittingly) as a tool for the devil.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”Romans 12:1 and 2
Paul warned us that Christians should never emulate the customs of this world because all this world is about is selfishness and corruption. He reminds us that, as Christians, we still have to be mindful not to allow ourselves to become puffed up with pride, covetous, or stubborn. While it is good to have healthy self-esteem, we must be mindful not to overestimate ourselves. We also must be mindful not to get behind those leaders who seem to have their own agenda, or want to guide you this way or that way for their own selfish needs. Paul tells us to be transformed by a renewing of our minds. That renewed mind allows us to clearly hear the Holy Spirit when He speaks...the voice of God that guides and warns.
When I was in the initial stages of creating SolafideJam, I could count the people (besides myself) that thought it was a good idea on one finger. It was a constant battle not to feel dejected one moment, and then full of pride the next. I put my blinders on to it all and let the Holy Spirit lead, guide me, push me and motivate me, and when I did that, God effortlessly began to put people in my path to allow this whole thing to happen and continue to grow. I constantly had to push back doubt one moment, and then pride the next. People close to me, many of them Christians, were not initially on board with my vision, or with what the Holy Spirit was driving me to do. They didn’t get it. Then, my non-Christian friends slyly, or even jokingly never failed to let me know they thought I was running some kind of a scam for either money or favor with the clemency board...also,there were people, some of them even Christians, who told me I was dumb if I didn’t seek financial gain, or use this website as a tactic to curry favor with prison officials. I had to tune it all out in order to keep my eye on my mission which is to serve God and provide a forum for my fellow brothers and sisters to turn to if need be. My tunnel-vision rubbed a lot of people the wrong way because when I refused to take the bait of temptation one way, the devil sought another way.OnceSolafideJam was up and running (and blossoming), some of these same people had their own idea on what it should all be about, wanting to use this platform to push their agendas. I have had to say“no” to things a lot more than I have said“yes...”...and no one likes to be told no. When you stay your own course and appeals to your pride or ego don’t work...then the outward attacks begin. But Jesus warned me in Matthew, chapter5. I was ready. It hurt. It stung. It sucked. However, by that point, I had a good team around me that circled the wagons around me and prayed for me and the success of SolafideJam nonstop.
Some people thought my love of praise and worship music was so great that they thought if they took away my ability to perform or teach, I would turn my back on my true purpose. They did not understand that my ministry is bigger than the music (even though this is a music ministry.) AndonceIpersevered, not only did SolafideJam grow, my ability to do praise and worship music expanded. And once God saw that I could take a major hit, He put some more on my plate, putting me in a real band with a real choir on a real stage in a real chapel here in Centralia, while also allowing me to become certified as an ordained minister, and become elected as ChaplainofVet Zone Post4111, a support group inmates who served in the military, who meet together to support each other and serve our country...all for the glory of God. The meek shall inherit the earth, and the righteous the kingdom of God...God has blessed me beyond my wildest imagination.
Many of our so-called friends, family, and authority figures demand total allegiance, and some would even have us turn from Christ to listen to them, or follow them. When they have biblical knowledge, their influence can become downright dangerous. You have to ask yourself five questions when you deal with this kind of people. First: do they become angry or ill-mannered when you don’t accept what they have said? Secondly: do they teach what is contrary to the truth found in scripture? Third: do they often kick off trivial, stupid disputes between brothers/sisters instead of helping people come to Jesus? Fourth: are they unconcerned about personal evidence of God’s presence in their own lives, opting to spend their time on meaningless conversations instead?... And Fifth: is their motivation strictly to make a name for themselves even if it means stepping on your purpose/ideas/mission???
Protect yourself from the deceptiveness of false teachers and people with hidden agendas by clinging to The Beatitudes, and learning what the Bible teaches. Remain steadfast in your faith in Jesus Christ alone.
God bless you and stay prayed up. Peace and Love.