Dear BLCF Friends,
Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church and BLCF Café continue to remain closed effective March 16, 2020, and until further notice. Today we would like to share with you a Lesson in a virtual format. We pray after the advent of a COVID-19 vaccine and following the determination of Health Canada and other Health Authorities the danger of a pandemic has subsided, the Board of BLCF will be able to reopen worship and outreach activities without concern of infection to the vulnerable within our community. In the meantime, please enjoy the following lesson, stay safe, and keep the faith.
– Pastor Steve
Message for Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church:
‘Divine Joy: A Reward Seasoned by His Grace, Illuminated by the Word’
© May23, 2021, by Steve Mickelson
Based Upon Messages Shared at BLCF on March 5, 2017, and August 23, 2015
Announcements and Call to Worship – Responsive Reading #617: The Beatitudes (Matthew 3, 28; Acts 2; Romans 6)
Opening Hymn #509: Is Your Life a Channel of Blessing?; Choruses
Prayer and Tithing: Hymn #572: Praise God from Whom All Blessings; Prayer
Requests Today’s Scriptures: Matthew 5:1-16 and Luke 6:12-26
The Sermon on the Mount
Let us pray…
Good morning, I hope you are enjoying this Victoria day long weekend. For our lesson today at Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship, I would like to examine Jesus’ sermon on The Beatitudes, which is the longest recorded in the Gospels, also known as The Sermon on the Mount. The message was delivered from a place called The Mount of Olives, which is why the sermon, is also known as The Olivet Discourse.
In this sermon, Jesus gives emphasis the importance of who his disciples are over what his disciples do, as we read in Matthew 5:1-16 (ESV):
The Beatitudes
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Footnotes: a. Matthew 5:9 Greek huioi; see Preface b. Matthew 5:16 Or house. 16Let your light so shine before others that
Luke 6:12-26 (ESV): The Twelve Apostles
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
The Beatitudes
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
We see that The Beatitudes come from activities motivated by a heart of love, humility, and compassion, rather than actions motivated by the expectation of rewards in this world. If the heart is right, then the believer will receive the blessings of a great reward in heaven.
But what do we mean by the term blessing? We can find several definitions:
Definition (from Google): blessing [bles-ing] noun
- The act or words of a person who blesses.
- A special favor, mercy, or benefit: The blessings of liberty.
- A favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.
- The invoking of God’s favor upon a person: The son was denied his father’s blessing.
- Praise; devotion; worship, especially grace said before a meal: The children took turns reciting the blessing.
- Approval or good wishes: The proposed law had the blessing of the governor.
While we see in the above six definitions, some include examples, that are either secular or faith-related. Our lesson today will focus on the second and third definitions:
- A special favor, mercy, or benefit: The blessings of liberty.
- A favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.
When we combine these two definitions, we a special favor, mercy, or benefit (through Jesus’ sacrifice), which gives the believer the God-given gifts of liberty from sin and joy to the heart.
Augustine of Hippo comments on the Beatitudes listed in the first of today’s Scripture verses that is Matthew 5:1-16, posted within an article by Steven Rummelsburg published online at crisismagazine.com.
St. Augustine’s Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel are described as “perfect works emanating from virtues perfected by the gifts” of the Holy Spirit. St. Augustine orders and clarifies the relationships between the beatific precepts and their corresponding spiritual gifts:
- Poverty of spirit corresponds with fear of the lord in which all wisdom begins.
- Meekness corresponds with piety, honor for the sacred Scriptures and the restrained power to live them out.
- Mourning corresponds with the gift of knowledge and facilitates the discernment of good from evil.
- Hunger and thirst for justice corresponds with the gift of fortitude to be truly just.
- Mercy coincides with the gift of counsel which exhorts us to forgive as we wish to be forgiven.
- Purity of heart corresponds with the gift of understanding what the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard.
- Peacemaking corresponds with the gift of wisdom.
St. Augustine explains that “for with peacemakers all things are in proper order, and no passion is in rebellion against reason, but everything is in submission to man’s spirit because that spirit is obedient to God.”
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/st-augustines-commentary-on-the-sermon-on-the-mount
The Beatitudes, as listed in Matthew 5, are expressions of the believer’s faith and heart that can be viewed as the seasoning or ‘salt’ that enhances our faith activities, helping to illuminate or shed ‘light’ on the Lord’s Gospel. The ultimate purpose of the salt and light is to glorify our Father in heaven.
The second of today’s Scripture verses, Luke 6:12-26, gives us a background to the events immediately prior to Christ’s Olivet Discourse, Jesus, gave the following prayer to God, called forth his disciples, selecting twelve Apostles or messengers of his Gospel. In Luke 6:13-16, the Lord names the twelve:
13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Before Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount to the multitude, the Lord heals those afflicted with diseases and cures others troubled with unclean spirits, with others seeking to touch and be healed.
The Lord shares his message of the beatitudes, but tempers the expectation of blessings by his disciples, with caution of woe to those whose appearance lacks the salt and light expected from a true disciple of the Lord, Luke 6:24-26 (ESV):
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
These warnings of woe are clarified in Matthew 25:31-40 (ESV), where Jesus describes how we may truly understand how a believer would be separated and judged, based not upon actions, but upon the love, humility, and compassion showed to others, In other words as disciples of Christ, we must focus upon the importance of who we are over what we do, as was described at the very beginning of today’s lesson:
The Final Judgment
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.’
In order to receive God’s blessing and receive the favor of inheriting the kingdom of heaven, we need to first demonstrate our own favour to the least of our brothers and sisters.
In order to receive God’s blessing and receive the favor of inheriting the kingdom of heaven, we need to first demonstrate our own favour to the least of our brothers and sisters. If we are made in His image, then our image must be an expression of His love. After all, God is Love.
Let us pray…
Closing Hymn #505: Out in the Highways and Byways of Life
Benediction – (Philippians 4:19):
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
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