The Opposite Way: Study on the Beatitudes

The Opposite Way: Week 3
The Beatitudes
Jesus shows us the countercultural way of life in Christ in the Beatitudes

My wife recently found a shed to purchase from Craigslist so I went to pick it up.  It was quite an adventure. We went to Point Richmond it is basically the furthest point out in the San Francisco Bay befor you get to water.  It was pretty crazy to get to, but we eventually found the guy he lives on a house boat in the bay and was selling us his storage shed. we must have strapped it down the wrong way becasue once we go on the freeway home it started to act more like a sail than a shed. It was floating from side to side in the truck bed most of the time. I realized that doing stuff the wrong way doesn't work but Jesus explains to us how to go the opposite way of our culture and it actually is the right thing to do and the way of most blessing. Here is what he says...

"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 have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:9-12 NASB)

1. The opposite way is purity

- Proverbs 23:7 says "as a man thinks in his heart so is he" Here are a few questions to ask ourselves to keep our thought life pure

- Where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform?

- What are we reading? Are there books or magazines or files in our libraries that we want no one else to see?

- What are we renting at the local video stores, iTunes, Netflix, and YouTube? What are we spending our time viewing and doing online How many hours do we spend watching TV, etc?

- Is anyone holding you accountable? Use accountability!

2. The opposite way is Peacemaking

I met a young High School student who told me last year that he had been in like over 30 fights.I was pretty surprised and told him my story of how aggressive and angry I was also as a young man and tried to explain the way of peace to him, but he just could not get it. I found out later that he had dropped out of school and is in real trouble with the law and just not doing very good in his life heading in the wrong direction becasue he rejects the way of peace. do you reject the way of peace. If you do not pursue peacemaking then maybe you are actually rejecting the way of peace that Jesus calls us to. Here are a few practical ways to be peacemakers in our culture...
1. Be generous with your smiles.
2. Be kind.
3. Be honest
4. Think about consequences
5. Be fair.
6. Be more loving.
7. Be a voice for the voiceless.
8. Be forgiving.
9. Play with a child.
10. Sing.
11. Learn about another culture.
12. Help someone.
13. Breathe deeply.
14. Be constructive.
15. Let someone else go first.
16. Share.
17. Be a good neighbor.
18. Send a note of appreciation.
19. Tell your friends how much they matter.
20. Say "I love you" more.
21. Respect the dignity of each person.
22. Be a good friend.
23. Send flowers to someone
24. Lose an argument to a loved one.
25. Value diversity.

3. The opposite way is Persecution

You might be called to suffer for Jesus name. Will you be ready? I attended Columbia International University in college.  I was a resident of Memorial dorm. The dorm was a memorial to students who had attended CIU and had given their lives for the cause of Christ . Chet Bitterman was one of those men. 

Chet Bitterman Missionary to Colombia, South America

He said in relation to dying for Christ, "I am willing." Every day I walked out of memorial dorm and prayed that I would be ready and willing to suffer for his name like Chet Bitterman. So not if but WHEN you suffer you can and should rejoice that it has been allowed for your good and Gods glory!

The Opposite Way: Study on the Beatitudes

The Opposite Way: Week 2
The Beatitudes
Jesus shows us the countercultural way of life in Christ in the Beatitudes

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:6-8 NASB)

Open: what is blessing? It is more than asking a blessing over your meal before you eat. Check out this hilarious video "PRE-BLESSED FOOD"

Being blessed means "inheriting the kingdom of heaven, being comforted, inheriting the earth, being satisfied, receiving mercy, seeing God, being called sons of God, your reward in heaven is great. This is the type of blessing we should seek. It is counter-cultural to seek blessing that is not monetary or tangible in this life.

1. Opposite way is hungering and thirsting for righteousness
Righteousness is doing what is right just as Jesus did. Here is a Righteousness test: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8 NASB)
If you can say you do these things in every situation then you are righteous. We cannot do these things all the time but we can seek them.

2. Opposite way is being merciful
Mercy is receiving what we do not deserve. The feeling that motivates compassion. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to grow during her life-time, and at the time of her death, they had 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis. They offered soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and schools. We can say that Mother Teresa practiced mercy to the most needy.

Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful.-- CS Lewis

This also is a good test to see if you are practicing mercy...
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:16, 17 NASB)



3. Opposite way is seeking purity
Seeking to be unstained by sin

My brother was made fun of for seeking purity and not looking at pornography and partying in middle school. He told the guys who made fun if him, "the Holy Spirit lives in my body and i don't want to make him feel uncomfortable."WOW! do we seek purity to this extent that we think of the Holy Spirit and his presence with us always. When we do we will finally be going the opposite way.