Isaiah 30:21: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
It was of poverty of spirit that the Lord spoke to my heart in the midst of pain, hurt, and disappointment on a drive following what was to have been a joyful retreat with friends on a cruise ship in 2003 as I cried and prayed asking why such circumstances kept happening in my life. In the next few days the Spirit unfolded the map of the pilgrim path Jesus had laid out in the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount. I recognized that state of being in myself the second God spoke the Word. The revelation of the Beatitude path in my own life has proven to be a worthy guide over the last two decades. But the thing is, even when you become experienced in walking it and you begin to understand that “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God” place Jesus talked about as having come to earth already, God always has new vistas to reveal, new lessons to be learned, as one journeys. As one aspect of one’s life is defined and refined “in Christ” He’ll direct His Spirit toward another aspect for further de-drossing again and again……selfhood, relationships, sexuality, marriage, parenting, finances, discipline, gifts, call and purpose, etc……. If God had done it all at once I could not have survived it. It’s like the stages of grief….although the stages are offered as a consecutive list, the process is non-linear and tends to have a lot of circling back and repetition. But the place you are at any moment and what it feels like depends on which aspect of one’s multitude of life-losses or that single catastrophic loss’ broad consequences one is focused on at the moment. Kubler-Ross ended her list with “acceptance”, and it is important that one faces and deals with the reality of the new way of life grievous losses present to us, but in healing and recovery work I found that there is a stage beyond “acceptance” and merely persevering in the new circumstances life has dumped on us. It is the place of renewed hope that life lived walking humbly with God will still bring joy and hope that is expressed in “gratitude.” That is the destination God would have us set our eyes on in the midst of suffering and pain. With the corollary process of The Way Jesus described the destination of the Beatitudes as “holiness” and it is the pinnacle to which one can aspire…. the mountaintop to which those who are refined to the degree of knowing and obeying the purpose to which they are called and are being used by God for His purpose…. the destination of the prophet for whom a great reward is prepared. It is the “gift” Moses, Jesus, and Paul urged all to seek.
When I first saw the path of The Way laid out in the Beatitudes, it brought to mind the baptismal font of my youth in a little Baptist church in rural SW Georgia…. a set of steps down, a set of steps up. What happened in the font between the steps by declaration before a congregation symbolically once would happen over and over and over again as the Holy Spirit took me into ravines or wildernesses or strange new territories where He had always prepared sufficient provision for healing another discovered “felt need” that resulted from refining.
This morning as I listened to the account of Elijah and the widow of Zeraphath in my morning Seedbed Daily Text devotional I was reminded of other accounts of men asking women for water….. Abraham’s servant journeying to seek a bride for his master’s son, Jesus journeying through Samaria for an appointment at a well, as well as Elijah sent to the widow of Zeraphath….. all three men went with an intention or instruction directed by God. All three women were going about their day’s tasks. All three women responded out of where they were in their lives…. Rebecca a privileged daughter of a kinsman, the Samaritan woman beaten down by rejection and perhaps bad choices, a widow facing death of herself and her son in a time of famine…. three very different men, three very different women, different circumstances but a common need….. a cup of water. Each woman provided it and each found a blessing in doing do. It reminded me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:40-42, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Jesus exemplified and demonstrated the value of service to others as well as generosity with whatever resources one had, sometimes by receiving from another, always by giving to others.
Once you see the beauty and simplicity of the Beatitudes ( Matthew 5:1-12) and understand how they flow, it is easy to share them with others! So many scriptures throughout the New Testament tie into them! And they become evident in Luke and in James, as well. You can share elements of your own testimony through them…..where you stumbled, where pitfalls and dead ends can get you trapped, how you learned, what helped you grow the most! (Ppt presentation by CCByrd)
And when you wholeheartedly embrace the Great Commandment defined by Christ – Mark 12:30 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” ( or Luke 10:27 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” or Matthew 22:27 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” or in its original form, Deut. 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” – AND love your neighbor as yourself…… you can see where you are in the Beatitude journey of surrendering “self” and things of the world and embracing the fullness of Spirit living in Christ as you learn to love God more and more wholly with all of who you are.
The Beatitudes: The Path of The Way to Healing and Wholeness
Matthew 5:3-12 (See Luke 6:20- 26 for a related account)
“Blessedness” makarios- A more literal translation of the word into contemporary English would be “possessing an inward contentedness and joy that is not affected by physical circumstances.”
- 3-Poverty of Spirit: When in your life have you experienced being “poor in spirit”? What were the circumstances?
Ps 51:17 Ps 34:18
Luke 18:14 Luke 6:47-49
- 4-Mourning: Can you explain to others what the “godly sorrow” that accompanies repentance feels like?
James 4:9-10 2 Corinthians 7:9-11
Isaiah 61:1-3 2 Corinthians 1:3
- 5-Meekness: Have you asked the Lord to make you teachable, moldable? Can you maintain the posture of discipleship?
Matthew 26:39 Romans 8:16-17
Galatians 4:7 Matthew 11:29
- 6- Hunger and thirst for righteousness: Do your spiritual disciplines and worship occur as regularly as eating and drinking?
Do you have the same enthusiasm for devouring the Word of God that you do for feasting on good food?
Psalm 107:9 Psalm 42:1
- 7- Merciful: Are you a vessel, only receiving the mercy poured into it? Or are you a conduit through which mercy flows to others?
Luke 6:36
- 8- Pure in Heart: Do you question and test your own motives? Can you see God’s work in your life, others’ lives, and the world?
Psalms 51:10 John 3:3
John 11:40 John 1:9
Ephesians 1:18-20
- 9- Peacemakers: Are you at peace in your own spirit? Are you a peacemaker to those in your own family, workplace, and church? Can you assist others in finding peace within themselves, with God, and with others?
John 5:19 1 Peter 3:11
Hebrews 12:14 Romans 12:18
- 10- Persecuted: Will your commitment to Christ endure through ridicule, hardship, and scorn?
Matthew 24:9 1 Corinthians 4:12
2 Timothy 3:12 2 Samuel 4:4, 9:1-6 (story of Mephibosheth)
- 11- Prophets as models, those who’ve achieved the pinnacle of the journey: Is God calling you to bring the truth of his message to the world, though it may subject you to loss of reputation with others, or worse?
Ezekiel 36:27 Numbers11:26-29
Acts 2:14-21 Joel 2:28
1 Corinthians 14:39 1 Corinthians 12:31
1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Thessalonians 5
Ezekiel 37 Proverbs 29:18
Acts 2:16-18 Acts 13:1-3
As a progressive process: Where are you on the journey? How often has God taken you back to the beginning of the process or sought to move you along to a higher level? Does having this diagrammatic, progressive view make moving further along in discipleship easier to visualize and, therefore, pursue?
2 Corinthians 3:18 Mark 1:8
Acts 11:15 2/7/18 CBByrd page 1
Suggested reading for further study:
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. (1959-60)
The Ladder of the Beatitudes. Forest, Jim. (1999)
Workbook on the Beatitudes. Dunnam, Maxie. (2006)
The Beatitudes for Today. Howell, James. (2006)
A Pattern for Life. Hunter, Archibald M. (1953)
The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character. Stott, John. (1998)
The Call to Contentment: Life Lessons from the Beatitudes . Wilson, Norman G. and Brecheisen, Jerry. (2002)
The Peacemaker. Sande, Ken. (1991)
For a digital file copy of this slide presentation and/or a copy of the narrative document for teaching purposes, contact:
Cathy Byrd, MS CRSS
Christian Educator and Life Recovery Counselor (850)832-4052
cathybyrd1212@hotmail.com