Rivendell Fellowship

Matthew 5:1-12 Jesus tells us how to be happy The Beatitudes is supernatural to human nature  Makarios- oh how happy True happiness is a byproduct of a right relationship with God 8 Christian Characteristics of the Beatitudes 1. Blessed are the poor in Spirit - Poor in Spirit is giving all authority to God - You can’t be full of pride and selfish ambition - You can’t love the things of this world 2. Blessed are those who Mourn for they shall be comforted  - The most intense kind of mourning - Mourning: deep sorrow of losing a loved one; sorrow over conditions of the world; sorrow over our own sinful state 3. Blessed are the meek - Meek: happy medium between two extremes - Meekness isn’t weakness - Power under control  - Jesus is our best example - Jesus loved those who mocked and beat Him - You choose not to use your power against others - A God-controlled life is meekness 4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness  - It’s desiring ALL o...

When you want to stop doing a sin, what do you do?  Do you try to deprive yourself of something, keep away from tempting situations, or try to distract yourself with more innocuous activities?  You have probably already learned this through practice, but none of these techniques will ever work. You cannot deprive yourself, ignore your desires, or beat your will into submission. Why? Because your mind and will aren’t the center of your decision-making process. Your heart is. If you don’t love something you won’t do it. If you don’t hate something you won’t leave it alone.  Yet in so many of the self-help books and even sermons today, people are preaching this strategy. There is always some new “wisdom” for how to stop bad habits and start good ones. Many of them treat sin like a diet. Starve out the bad. Feed the good. But sin doesn't work like this.  In our passage for today, Paul is going up against similar religious tactics of his time. He is trying to help his aud...