The View from Heaven

[0:00] Let us pray. As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God, inspired now by your living word.

[0:15] In Jesus Christ I pray. Amen. Life without Jesus, life without God, is useless or empty.

[0:30] Mankind has for a long time been longing for satisfaction, a blessed life, true happiness.

[0:43] However, to attain this happiness has been a great question confronting humanity. The majority today are paying much attention to the appetites of the flesh, in doing so, they seek happiness, satisfaction, through ways that are bound to yield tragedy, miserable life, as well as stress.

[1:13] In the end, they realize that what they called to be happiness is just temporary, not permanent. they realize no satisfaction.

[1:26] Therefore, Jesus Christ, through his sermon on the mount, provides answers for the attainment of long-term happiness. Matthew chapter 5, Matthew chapter 5, is part of the sermon on the mount, that ends up with chapter 7, of the same gospel.

[1:47] In chapter 4 of Matthew, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, had passed his examinations by 100%, by overcoming the temptations. He also chose his first disciples.

[2:01] Then, we hear about him teaching, preaching, and healing. His concern, mainly, to both the psychological and physical needs of the people, made him famous.

[2:16] That's why we read at the end of chapter 4, verse 25, that large crowds gathered around him. This large gathering of people was an advantage to Jesus.

[2:30] He did not want to miss this chance, but began to teach them about the kingdom of God. He had already healed their physical and psychological sicknesses.

[2:44] Now, he wanted to meet their spiritual needs. This sermon on the mount, the Beatitudes, is a description of what followers of Jesus Christ then, and today, were, are meant to be.

[3:02] The whole sermon on the mount is about how we can attain happiness, satisfaction in his fullness, by the grace of God, through actions derived from good character, or how we can attain the happiness of other people, how we can bring the fullness of happiness to other people through actions derived from good character.

[3:28] In true sense, the sermon on the mount says the following, if you are, if you really want to be happy, blessed, and satisfied, this is the way.

[3:44] Several lessons can be drawn out of the Beatitudes as the way to getting satisfaction. However, I shall dwell much on one lesson.

[3:55] The first Beatitude is key to the rest of the Beatitudes because without it, the rest cannot be realized.

[4:08] This key Beatitude says, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. What does poor in spirit mean?

[4:21] it means sense of longing for something in order to be filled. A feeling of being deprived of something most important than anything else.

[4:37] It can also mean a realization that nobody is independent of God but always dependent on him. Furthermore, it may mean a realization that I am not complete without God.

[4:54] Recognizing that there is someone greater than me who can fulfill the gaps of my dissatisfaction. It can also mean realization that I am not a master of myself and acceptance of God as the only controller and drive of my life.

[5:18] And finally, it can also mean rendering a listening ear to God through total submission thus allowing God to influence the whole of my life.

[5:32] Brethren, our spiritual journey involves the spirit in us in order to move forward. The spirit in us is like an engine that needs energy to move.

[5:45] If the spiritual gas is not there, we feel emptiness in ourselves before God. However, this feeling of emptiness takes place only to those who really accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

[6:03] Upon realizing our spiritual poverty, God intervenes in our life and our gaps of dissatisfaction get filled by him. the spiritual poverty then turns out to be the spiritual riches that shall enable us to mourn, to show meekness, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers and we happily risk our lives or get persecuted for Jesus' sake.

[6:41] If we are to achieve true happiness, every genuine Christian should always be practical when professing his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

[6:54] By the grace of God, every Christian should strive to live by right actions derived from good character. People around us should not just hear words from our mouth but should always see the right actions being performed.

[7:14] Actions speak louder than words. Good character go hand in hand with the manifestation of right actions. How small our light may be, it can still make a huge difference in other people's lives.

[7:33] The characters stipulated in the Beatitudes go together. other. It's not a matter of only having one leaving the other. Every Christian is meant to be all of them because each of the Beatitudes demand the other.

[7:51] For example, nobody can be a peacemaker if she or he is not pure in heart or mind. without being poor in spirit, we become arrogant and perpetually in total rebellion against God.

[8:12] My brothers and sisters, when we depend on God, our Jesus Christ, we get satisfied. God comes in our lives to fill all the gaps of dissatisfaction that we become wholesome, complete and blessed.

[8:33] Once we get the spiritual riches, we begin to bless others also with the blessings God has given us. Even if we put our lives at risk because of Jesus Christ, the Lord shall always be on our side to provide satisfaction.

[8:56] There is this saying which goes, Christians being good people are like candles who burn themselves up in order to give light to others.

[9:09] So we are called to do the same. Therefore, let us recommit ourselves to the authority of God through Jesus Christ so that in the end we get satisfied.

[9:22] Brothers and sisters, remember that life without God is useless or empty. Let us pray.

[9:34] Almighty God, we humbly come before thy throne of grace asking you to enlighten the gaps that are within us so that we should always depend on you.

[9:47] May you make our lives useful firstly to you and our neighbors and finally to ourselves as individuals. To the glory of your name.

[9:58] Amen.