THE BLESSED LIFE - WEEK 1

3 John 2  I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.

Today we start one of the greatest adventures you will experience - understanding and implementing the blessed life.

The word Blessed is the word Makarios and it appears 50x in the bible.  It means to be happy and to be envied by others. It describes a believer who is envied by others because there is evidence of God’s favor on them. Makarios also means to prosper very much in the same way as 3 John 2. To have a good journey because God is working for you.

Makarios is a divine act. An act of God to BESTOW blessing on you. It is not earned by you, it is endowed by God on you.  

3107 makários (from mak-, "become long, large") – properly, when God extends His benefits (the advantages He confers); blessed.

The hebrew word for makarios in the OT is the word Esher.

 
Psalms 1: Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

 

A tree prospers when it’s roots are good.  

 

For a tree to have good roots it must have 3 things:

  1. Be planted in the right place.

  2. Be in a right atmosphere. eg; you can grow roses in Adelaide, but not tropical fruit like bananas and mangos. The soil is good, but the atmosphere is not.  

  3. Be free from disease

 

For your soul to prosper you need to 3 things:

  1. to be planted in the right place.

  2. to create the right atmosphere

  3. to be free from disease.

 

This year I want you to commit yourself to these 3 things:

1.  Being planted, not just attending a life giving church.   

2. Create the right atmosphere so you can grow.

3.  Be free from disease.

 

Diseases are things like fear/anxiety/biblical unbelief/worry/anger/love of money/ love of pleasure.

Today I want to examine the great manifesto of the blessed life preached by Jesus in what is known as the sermon on the mount.

It’s the sermon where we find the Lord’s prayer, and the beatitudes. It's message tells us not to worry,  it’s the sermon which talks about us being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The Sermon on the Mount is the centerpiece of Jesus teaching on life as a follower of Christ and It’s the manifesto of living a blessed life.  In fact it boldly starts with headlines of the blessed life.   

Matthew 5:3-10 (NIV) 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

When Jesus addressed the people with his treatise on blessing he was upending all of their priorities. They lived with doing and not being. They followed other peoples priorities like the Romans. They followed the laws of the Pharisees. It was about doing. God called us to be human beings not human doings.  

As Jesus speaks, he tears to shreds their current priorities and gives them a new list of priorities.

 

PRIORITY # 1 Don’t worry be happy

 

Jesus' good news was this; there is hope people! The challenges of life are nothing to worry about if you are blessed.  

 

PRIORITY #2 Live from the inside out

 

As he opens up the 8 blessed life principles Jesus is teaching them about how to detach themselves from the oppression and religion that surrounded them and to live from the inside out. He focuses on the attainment of liberty and blessing by the power and the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers.

 

PRIORITY #3 Father first, Jesus First, The Holy Spirit First

In the blessed life you aren’t the center of your life, Jesus is.

Luke 7:37 On the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood up and said.  He who is thirsty let him come and drink and as the scriptures say, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The Jews thought that the centre of the world was Jerusalem.  

They thought the center of Jerusalem was the temple.  

It was a symbol of Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 47 where there was prophesied that one day there would be a river that would come from the throne of God and it would heal everything and turn everything around.  

Well Jesus right in the middle of their religion and ritual stands up and says, that’s not where the river of life is going to come from. I’m the water of life, I’m the river, I’m the center of it all. If you are thirsty come to ME and rivers of living will flow out of you. The revival you are looking for in your family is in ME. The financial breakthrough you are searching for is in ME.  The joy you are looking for is in ME. The peace you need is in ME. The rest you need is in ME.  

THE SECRET TO A BLESSED LIFE. THE SECRET TO BREAKTHROUGH IS PUTTING THE RIGHT THINGS AS PRIORITIES.


It’s simple really; if you want to build a great house, then you start with the foundations, then you build the rest. You don’t start with the TV or the airconditioning. You put the right things first.

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