Blessed Are the Meek

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Sermon on the Mount, It is the foundation for Christian living. Everything hinges on this. Jesus begins the Sermon with a blueprint of Christian character and how to be “blessed” by God. The Beatitudes stand as a gateway to the rest of the sermon. We will spend next few weeks of this sermon series meditating on what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, and to be persecuted. May our gracious King lead us into the fullness of life in His radically counter-cultural Kingdom! Note: There are a number of things that need to be noted regarding the beatitudes as a whole. Note that each beatitude has three elements: (1) Each sentence begins with the word “blessed” (makarioi). (2) There is a description of the person to whom this blessing applies. (3) The beatitude ends with the reason or ground why the person is blessed. For prayer request, please feel free to contact us at www.globalicc.org/contact To give please click www.globalicc.org/give Cash App $iccglobal Venmo App @iccglobal Subscribe to our weekly podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-christian-church/id1076335656 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKKhWqCqr7rkXsdsqpgRx?si=1f717cde8a5846c2 Live streaming Copyright License #20714391

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Sermon on the Mount, It is the foundation for Christian living. Everything hinges on this.

Jesus begins the Sermon with a blueprint of Christian character and how to be “blessed” by God. The Beatitudes stand as a gateway to the rest of the sermon. We will spend next few weeks of this sermon series meditating on what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers, and to be persecuted. May our gracious King lead us into the fullness of life in His radically counter-cultural Kingdom!

Note: There are a number of things that need to be noted regarding the beatitudes as a whole.

Note that each beatitude has three elements:

(1) Each sentence begins with the word “blessed” (makarioi).

(2) There is a description of the person to whom this blessing applies.

(3) The beatitude ends with the reason or ground why the person is blessed.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus’ greatest preaching where He describes what the Kingdom of God is like, its culture, and kingdom character. I have found Matthew 5 to 7 very challenging to live by. Let us look at the background before we get into the eight Beatitudes. Matthew is writing largely for a Jewish audience whose hearts longed for a Messiah King thought would overthrow their oppressors. The Jews forgot their “otherness” and consorted with the nations taking on their cultures and even worshiping their Gods. The Sermon on the Mount is a call to return to roots by turning away from the adulteration of the law and returning to true righteous living. In the gospel of Matthew, the kingdom of heaven was a main running motif. Matthew tells his readers that Jesus did come to establish His kingdom but not how they expected. For prayer request, please feel free to contact us at www.globalicc.org/contact To give please click www.globalicc.org/give Cash App $iccglobal Venmo App @iccglobal Subscribe to our weekly podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-christian-church/id1076335656 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKKhWqCqr7rkXsdsqpgRx?si=1f717cde8a5846c2 Live streaming Copyright License #20714391

Pastor Jaison taught us five valuable steps we need to learn to possess our promises with the help of God. For prayer request, please feel free to contact us at www.myiccglobal.org/contact To give please click www.myiccglobal.org/give Cash App $iccglobal Venmo App @iccglobal Subscribe to our weekly podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-christian-church/id1076335656 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKKhWqCqr7rkXsdsqpgRx?si=1f717cde8a5846c2 Live streaming Copyright License #20714391

Luke 12:22-31 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[a]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. For prayer request, please feel free to contact us at www.myiccglobal.org/contact To give please click www.myiccglobal.org/give Cash App $iccglobal Venmo App @iccglobal Subscribe to our weekly podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-christian-church/id1076335656 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKKhWqCqr7rkXsdsqpgRx?si=1f717cde8a5846c2 Live streaming Copyright License #20714391

Mark 16:12- 20 (NLT) 15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” 19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs. For prayer request, please feel free to contact us at www.myiccglobal.org/contact To give please click www.myiccglobal.org/give Cash App $iccglobal Venmo App @iccglobal Subscribe to our weekly podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-christian-church/id1076335656 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKKhWqCqr7rkXsdsqpgRx?si=1f717cde8a5846c2 Live streaming Copyright License #20714391

Acts 10, where we witness a transformative event that underscores three crucial aspects of our spiritual journey: man's preparation, man's willingness, and God's intervention. Let's explore how these elements come together to fulfill God's divine purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV) "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." We live in a world where the focus is often on the visible and the immediate. We are bombarded with messages that emphasize physical beauty, material success, and instant gratification. However, as followers of Christ, we are called to a different perspective—one that looks beyond the temporal to the eternal. Today, we will explore how the Apostle Paul encourages us to shift our focus and find hope in the eternal promises of God. For prayer request, please feel free to contact us at www.myiccglobal.org/contact To give please click www.myiccglobal.org/give Cash App $iccglobal Venmo App @iccglobal Subscribe to our weekly podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-christian-church/id1076335656 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKKhWqCqr7rkXsdsqpgRx?si=1f717cde8a5846c2