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Welcome to the live Big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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Last week we talked about the fact that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And if the masses swarmed to hear Jesus yesterday, we should not be surprised that a lot of people tend to show up wherever he's glorified today. And I said that to say, as I said last week, we should never ever apologize for being a large church. Because when Jonathan attacked the Philistines, he said this to his armor bearer in 1st Samuel 14:6, he said, nothing. No thing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few in a small church or a big church. You see, one thing I know about Jesus is he's allergic to being put in a box. And he breaks out every single time. God still saves by many or by few, whether we think there's a lot of us or just a handful of us, because everything is small compared to him. So he went up on a mountain, and when he was seated, his disciples came to him. Now, every word that is written here is telling his target audience was his disciples. And fortunately, we don't really have to guess what a disciple is. We don't have to really even dig into the Greek, because Jesus tells us In Luke chapter 6:40, he says, a disciple is not above his what Teacher? Which implies a disciple is a taught one. A disciple is a learner. But then he also says, but everyone perfectly trained will be like. Will be what? Like Will be what? Like his teacher. So being a disciple is different than just being a convert. A convert has a level of confidence that when he or she dies, they will go to heaven. But the goal of a disciple is much, much more than just dying and going to heaven. It's becoming like him. While on earth, everyone perfectly trained shall become what? Like him. So the goal of a disciple is to become what? Like him. You see, a church will never change the world by just filling seats. A church will change the world by making disciples. Matter of fact, the Bible, Jesus said this. He said, if you continue in My word, then you are My disciples. So what makes us disciples is our attention to His Word. Then he opened his mouth and he taught them. Now, Jesus taught through both word and action. And if he never opened his mouth, he would still be saying a whole lot. But Jesus not only talked the talk, but he walked the walk even to the Golgotha's hill. You see, God is called holy. We call God holy because his words and his actions always agree. They always match. And when you discover God's Word, you've discovered what God will do in your life. So he opened his mouth and he taught them, saying, now, if God never spoke and only acted as I said, we might not understand him so well. So God, in His wisdom, sent His Word to help make sense of his actions. And this is why I'm so careful week after week to go line upon line. Because it's not enough to know what the preacher says. You gotta know what the word of God says about your situation and your life. Proverbs 4. 7 tells us this. It says, wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom. And in all you're getting, get what? Understanding. So Jesus is about to teach eight principles. This is the first sermon Jesus has ever preached. This is his longest sermon in all of Scripture. And he begins this sermon teaching us about how discipleship works. He starts with, blessed are the poor in spirit. We talked about this last week. This blessing is first because anyone and everyone can start here. It's the first rung, if you will, of Jacob's Ladder. And if a ladder is to be of any use, it must have its first step near to the ground, accessible to everyone. If that step is too high, no one can use the Ladder, even though every other rung is accurate, fixed, and in place. If the first rung is not low enough for everyone to reach, the ladder cannot be used. So imagine if Jesus started with, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. How many of y'all know y'all be in trouble? Right out the gate. Right out the gate. Yeah. And in this first statement, he's not saying that we're not valued. That's not what he's saying. God values us. God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son. Whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. God loves us and values us so much that he sacrificed Jesus. But what he is saying is we have no spiritual assets adequate to impress God. That there's no spiritual assets we bring into the relationship. There's nothing about who we were that makes God feel that he ought to love us while we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Christ died for us. We had nothing to offer, but he loved us nonetheless. So the first step into the kingdom is a recognition and a revelation of the fact you bring nothing to the marriage, nothing to the relationship. You can't boast, you can't brag, and you certainly can't push God around, but then notice the location of the poverty. Blessed are the poor in spirit. So what he's saying is it doesn't matter how rich you are in your wallet, how poor you are in your wallet, how many followers you have on Instagram or, or X, Facebook or whatever else you know, what's the other word? TikTok, et cetera. Doesn't matter the school you graduated from or the friends you have, the celebrities you know, only the need you acknowledge in your heart. Entering the kingdom starts on this first rung. And every other step depends on this first step. But the problem is many stop here. They say, well, when I die, I'm going to go to heaven. I recognize my poverty. But being a disciple is different than being a convert, because a convert, you know, they get saved and they die and go to heaven. But a disciple makes their life of use. And God wants us to start again on that first step. But he doesn't want anyone listening or in this room to stop climbing until you get to the top. He said, blessed are the poor in spirit, but here's the promise, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Again, the only thing required to enter God's kingdom is to acknowledge your spiritual bankruptcy and accept the King's supply of grace. But again, don't stay at the door once you enter, talking about how poor you are. Keep growing into his image. Now, each trait that we are learning about today begins with a singular word. It's the word blessed. And let's move to verse four. It says again, blessed. Now the reason that this section has been called the Beatitudes for centuries is, is because the Latin translation, the Latin vulgate uses the word beate for blessed. And in Latin beete means blessed. And then it adds, we add a suffix, tude. So beatitude. You ever been around someone with a tude? Okay, so this is self explanatory. Tude speaks of the condition of the mind, the quality of the heart. So Jesus here is speaking about eight attitudes that make us beautiful before God. He's giving us eight beauty tips for the inner person or man. He said, blessed are those who mourn. Again, on the first rung of the ladder, God shows us our spiritual poverty. But once we get on the ladder and start to move to the second step, we gotta hold on. Now you can casually put your foot up on a ladder and not really put your full weight on it. But I'll tell you, to get to the second step, you got to grab the sides. And when it comes to this progression, this Second step, you, you got to hold on because you're about to experience realities, you're about to experience emotions that without God's help could absolutely crush you. Again, the main audience of this message was not curiosity seekers, but disciples. And for this reason, some of this message may go over some of our heads, because we've settled to be converts and we're okay with that first rung of the ladder, but we haven't made the decision yet to climb and truly become disciples. And all a disciple is, is anyone who combines learning with action, learning with action. Not just hearers, but doers of God's word. He said, blessed are, are those who mourn, not those who moan, those who mourn. A writer wrote, self pity is easily the most destructive of non pharmaceutical narcotics. It is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality. And what Jesus is saying is, as you grow with him and you enter the kingdom, you're excited and you're delighted and you're happy, you're on a honeymoon. But over time, God begins to show you stuff. He's saying, blessed are those who, when shown their stuff, own their stuff. People who could face their own failings and feel it without deflecting, without denying, without self medicating, without justifying. He said, blessed are those who mourn. So after we grasp our spiritual poverty, we begin to realize how the deficits in our lives have not only impacted ourselves, but those we love. We begin to realize that, you know, now our kids don't worship because we didn't really worship. We realize, you know, I didn't obey. That's why my spouse doesn't now obey. It's when you realize, you know what? I wasn't forgiving. And that's why I'm so lonely. You see, God lets us feel the weight of our sin so we can feel the true power of his grace. And I don't trust Christians that never go through nothing. I don't trust people that always. Now listen, you want to, you know, rejoice in the Lord and be joyful, but I don't trust people that always have a smile. Because if you're really walking with Jesus, he gonna tell you some stuff you ain't gonna be able to smile about. In fact, do you really think when Jesus flipped over the tables, he had a smile on his face? There'll be moments. Now listen, don't walk around frowning and say, well, Bishop to no, that's not what I'm saying. Know what I'm saying? But there will be season if you're really growing. I'm not talking about someone that got saved and said, well, listen, I got fire insurance. I'm not going to hell, I'm good. I'm talking about people who are really trying to get to know the Lord. There will be season. He will show you your stuff. And it's almost like you feel like you can't do anything right, like God, how can I be that bad? And you go through seasons like that. But watch the promise though. For those that commit to the process in such a season, they shall be comforted. But notice, notice the only folks that are comforted are the folks that first feel the pain. So stop pushing it away. Stop saying it's somebody else's fault. You know, if they raised me different, if I had what they had and all these excuses. He only comforts those who first feel the pain. And what I've noticed in my young life is the pain will leave you only after it's finished teaching you. David says this in Psalm 34:18. He said, the Lord is near the brokenhearted, not the person that deflects rationalizes. Not my fault, their fault. And you don't know what happened to me back when I was little and da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da. The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves such as have a contrite spirit. The New Testament says it this way. If we would just confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and can cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Are you ready to take another step in the journey? All right, step three. He says blessed again or happy. But the way the term happy is used here, this is the type of happiness that has an eye toward the benefits. I'll explain that in a second. This could be read enviable or fortunate. I'd say the Beatitudes are a lot like an expectant mother that's really happy about the pregnancy, but knows that it's going to come eventually with some discomfort and some pain. So this blessedness and this happiness is not based on what you feel at the moment, but on the outcome. You know that's going to come from this moment. You see, the blessed person is that person with a slight smile on the side of their face because they know no matter what happens in the end it's gonna be worth it that God's gonna work all things together for good. It's a person that remembers what Jesus said. Wisdom is justified of a children meaning the fruit will justify the investment. Habakkuk said, in the end, it will speak and not lie. The psalmist said, joy comes in the morning when you really understand. No matter what you're facing, whatever season you're in, there's a sense of blessedness, because you know God's only working out of you what needs to be worked out of you and working in you what needs to be worked into you. You understand, you believe God is in control. And if God put you on this potter wheel and decided to stick his thumb into that sore spot in your life, it's all for your good. Is anybody with me in this room? Jesus said, blessed are the meek. In Roman culture, meekness was not a trait that they admired. In fact, it was something of an insult to call a Roman citizen meek. Meekness was an attribute, a slave. But how many know Jesus Kingdom is not like this world, and God has a way of turning things upside down or better, right side up. The idea of meekness is not weakness. It's actually strength under control. It's the image of this incredibly powerful and beautiful stallion that does what it's trained to do instead of using its strength to run wild. You know, the first of the two Beatitudes was somewhat introspective, but here meekness is very practical and relational. Jesus said, blessed are the meek. What is a meek person? A meek person is someone that could suffer wrong without bitterness. A meek person is someone that can suffer wrong without wanting revenge. Meekness is that powerful bulldog that a little baby boy or girl puts his hand in his food and it chooses not to bite. This is the picture. Meekness is that man or that woman who doesn't get everything they want but still keeps going home to their family each and every night. Meekness is that single person that doesn't have everything they want, but they still come to church to worship in God's family, to serve God's family. Meekness is is that child who has that absent daddy but won't let that become his excuse or her excuse in life. Meek are the people who say, whatever God deposited in me is strong enough to endure whatever the devil dishes at me. He said, blessed are the meek people that got their passions and their strength under control. Meekness is at work in your life when you feel like giving up, but you don't. Times you feel like getting even, but you don't. The times you feel like telling someone exactly how you feel, but you don't. The times you feel like walking away and never coming back again, but you don't. Meekness is when it Costs more than you want to pay, but you pay anyway. Meekness is when it takes longer than you thought, but you still wait. Meekness is simply our ability to control our passions. Some of us have a wrong image of Jesus. He was a full blooded man, 100% God, 100% man. The Bible says he was tempted on all points as we are yet without sin. And we see something of his humanity at Gethsemane, and there was nothing wrong. He never sinned in his life. But at Gethsemane he looked at the cross and his nakedness and his shame and how they were gonna beat him and how they were gonna mock him and all. And he also reflected on how the sin of the world was going to be placed on him. And he had never sinned before, so he never had an experience with sin. He was never separated from the Father before. And that's why from the cross he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because he's always lived in communion with the Father. But when he took on our sin, it was just him. And as a human, he said, look, Father, you a big God, smart guy, wise God, if there's any way that you could take this cup from me. Jesus was a real man and he wasn't just in the pain. And he said, father, if it's possible, take this cup. God said no three times. But here's where meekness comes in. I don't like it. Never been down this road before. It's not gonna feel good. It's really gonna be bad. But not my will. Thy will be done. So meekness is when you as that beautiful stallion, want to go that way. But the rider says, go this way. And you trot in the direction the Lord leads you. He said, blessed are the meek. Here's the promise for the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. When you get a revelation of this, you become those who say, listen, I have a spiritual inheritance and I'm not going to give up what God has for me to get even with you. I know that's kind of hard to clap voice sometimes. I'm going to give this to God. Vengeance is the Lord's. And if I do it, it'd be too much or too little. God knows exactly how to do it. And beyond that, God will not go to jail. No one can arrest him. And I gotta be frank with you, when I watch things and see the things people do, sometimes it's like, ooh, you don't realize right now it might seem like you're Getting away. But we're all gonna give an account. What's done in secret will be exposed in the lights. And what you said, and what you say and what you do matters. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. If you want the blessings God has on this planet, you need to go where God wants you to go. Say what God wants you to say. Do what God wants you to do. Don't just go your own way and ask God to bless it. Take the path he's assigned for you and Jesus. If he's really your hero, we have to follow his pattern. Lord, not my will. I'll stay in this situation if you want me to. Thine be done. You ready for the last rung on the ladder before we quit today? Verse 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst. Real hunger will make you do what you would not do. If you're thirsty enough, hungry enough, even if there's a lion outside, you'll brave the lion to try to catch a deer or whatever. Because hunger is even more important than safety. And when you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you'll push aside your fake friends, you'll swallow your pride, you'll put even your life on the line. Because hunger and Jesus had to use hunger and thirst. Because hunger is primal. Hunger is very real. Hunger is natural. Even Jesus got tired and he was hungry at times. Hunger is intense. Hunger is driving. It made the nomads move from place to place as they followed the various animals, etc. But also hunger is a sign of health. When you lose your appetite for spiritual things, you're dealing with a spiritual sickness. Hunger is a sign of health. Three minutes without air, we no longer we exist while we're dead, let's put it that way. Three days without water, dead. 30 days without food, dead. And as strong as our instinct is for survival is as strongly God wants to put a divine instinct in you for righteousness. He said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, not just for houses and cars and lands, but blessed are those who have a primal cry to be right with God, to be right with the people that let you be right with them in this life. Blessed are those who. Now listen. Hunger is something you feel until you're full. So hunger again. It's painful. And sometimes, as you watch what's going on in the world, as we watch the news feeds, there's pain in our hearts. Because there's a hunger and a thirst for true righteousness. But a lot of us, what we do is we just. We don't care anymore. And that is a sign you are in poor spiritual health. When you begin to hear all the crazy things that are happening with girls aren't girls, boys aren't boys and it doesn't bother you and you're like, ah, no, there's something wrong spiritually when that type of darkness is acceptable. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what's the promise for. It's those who go through the pain of wanting more. Those who look at situations say baby you weren't made for that. Baby you could do better than that. God loves you right where you are and he'll meet you right where you are. But God got better for your daughter. God got better for your son. It's those that have a cry that what you're doing is not right. I love you. God loves you and he can fix it. As those that look at the stuff going on but cry out to God for His hand to move in the folks lives we love. It's those who take righteousness seriously that shall be filled. You see, the self righteous are already filled and they have no room for God's righteousness. No thirst, no hunger for it. And I don't want to be in that number. I want to be hungry for God's righteousness. Lord, before you start with me, I want to be right. Help me be right in my relationships and Lord, help me help others get right. It said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Does anyone want to be filled today? Yeah. Lift your hand and give God some honor and glory.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekre.com by clicking the link in the description.