Sunday, July 5, 2009

The Nines #1

The Nines
9 Statements That Will Change the World

#1

What are the Beatitudes?

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Matthew 5:1-3 (ESV)

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What does it mean to be “Blessed?”


• The Greek word is: Μακαριοι

What does it mean to be Poor in Spirit?


Philippians 3:7-8 (ESV)

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Matthew 10:39

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

Luke 12:15

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

**It means that in our soul, we own nothing. How many possessions we have or don’t have is of no importance. Our life circumstances are of no importance. The only thing that matters is getting in the bulls eye of God’s Will.

How do we know that we are fulfilling the challenge to be poor in spirit?

Matthew 5:3b

“…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

**We can know that we are becoming poor in spirit when the priorities of this type of blessing are being realized in our life.

How do I know when I am holding on too tightly?

1. When you don’t let go of material things and assume that you know how to manage your possessions better than God.

2. God asks us to tithe back to Him. We are not poor in spirit when we make excuses to not do that.

3. We are holding on too tightly when we refuse to forgive.

4. Anytime that we make excuses to avoid service to others.

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