Servias Ministries Blog

We have been covering the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew.  There are eight Beatitudes.  The first four focus on your personal spiritual maturity whereas the last four emphasize the outworking or results of your mature walk with others.

Matthew 5:7 

Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.

When you have progressed through the phases of emptying of “self”, releasing the old man, living in moderation and willingness to serve, and ultimately having a singular focus toward righteousness, you will then walk in mercy toward others.  You will then look beyond the weaknesses of others and no longer be judgmental of their blind state.  You reap what you sow.  If you sow mercy, you will reap mercy.  You no longer demand an exacting punishment toward outward failure of obeying the Law but instead you minister to the inward man where the Law is actually being broken.  As a man thinks, so is he.  Jesus went into further detail of this truth:

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,fn and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

Jesus moved the issue from the outworking of sin to the “intent” in the heart.  The mature son will focus on the internal issues while observing the resulting fruit.  Until each of us lines up with HIS Divine Intent, we will continue to deal with the old man.  Since HIS Divine Intent is based upon Love, we must pursue the fullness of this bond of perfection, this agape Love that looks through the eyes of compassion rather than that of judgmental self-exaltation.

We must practice forgiveness everyday.  Our ego wants to pull out the scales of justice for others’ actions, not our own.  Our mind does not understand forgiveness since it is “cause and effect” oriented.  Jesus made a point about forgiving others 7 x 70 or 490, the number of Jubilee.  We must fully release others of their debt to us.  “You owe me” is a favorite saying of the ego.  Our ego wants to keep others in debt to us so that we can lord the debt over others.  True mercy forgives the debt, just as Our Heavenly Father forgave our debts.  The ego does not want to move from the arena of “conditions” to that of unconditional Love.

Jesus made it quite clear that if you have a “heart” issue with someone, clear it up before you enter into the temple or presence of Our Heavenly Father:

:23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

This message is one of reconciliation and restoration.  If Our Heavenly Father was in the eternal damnation business, do you think Jesus would have urged us to restore our relationships?  As you practice forgiveness everyday, it will free up your soul.  You will no longer be plagued with thoughts of “getting even”.  Instead, you will continue your growth toward the fullness of your calling.  This Beatitude is the first of the four dealing with the “horizontal” ministry we are all called to walk in.  If you are not merciful, how can you expect to do greater works than Jesus?  After all, everyone He healed had not yet been fully restored to Our Heavenly Father because He had not yet gone to the Cross.  What an example of mercy and forgiveness, and most of all, Love!

Proverbs 23: 7  For as he thinks within himself, so he is…

Whatever you place your focus and intent on, that sets the course of your life.  You ultimately manifest what you think and dwell on.  If you are constantly thinking about food, you will probably overeat.  If you consistently think about scarcity of finances, you will remain in lack.  If you are always bitter toward others, your bitterness will add new people to your “poop” list.  It is your decision what you think about and where you place your focus.

Matthew 5:6 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

“Righteousness” is integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting… acceptable to Our Heavenly Father.  What you think in your mind will ultimately manifest in your life.  You cannot think one thing and expect to produce another.  Controlling your thoughts is key to changing your life.  If you keep having negative things coming your way, you probably need to change.  Your ego will constantly create problems to be fixed.   Once they are fixed, your ego will try to convince you of its importance and supremacy.  Living in moderation will reduce issues.  Simplifying will create less complex problems and issues to deal with.  Complexity requires high maintenance and enslaves you.  You must change your thought process if you want your circumstances to change.  Change occurs when you repent or turn away from your current direction of death and destruction.

As you pursue righteousness, you will be satisfied.  That is an emphatic statement from the Son of The Most High GOD.  These are His words, not mine.  We are given a few concise principles that will effect change in our lives, yet we lose the battle in our minds.  We continue to submit to the old man and end up staying in the wilderness where unbelief reigns.

Think GOD thoughts, focus on the Spiritual.  Give over your life to righteousness and you will be satisfied.  Focus on the Presence of Our Heavenly Father in your midst.  HE is not some distant GOD who is impervious to your needs.  HE is a Loving Heavenly Father who will guide you into righteousness if you will only submit to the path and direction that lead to life.

You reap what you sow.  That is a basic Spiritual Law.  If you sow Love, you reap Love.

Romans 8:28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

The reality is that we all are called to a purpose HE selected.  When you Love someone, you desire to be acceptable in their sight, in other words righteous.  Why is it so difficult to achieve something that is apparently so simple?  We have developed habits in our thinking process that must be broken.  Look at the physical habits of smoking, drinking, drug addiction, sex, etc.  Americans have excelled in habitual destruction.  Indulgence promotes the formation of habits.  Our flesh craves the satisfaction, as temporary as it might be.  Once the satisfaction has worn off, the body will press the mind to focus on another “fix”.  Before long, you are overwhelmed by the need to satisfy the flesh.  Manifestation of sin results.  In order to break the cycle, Jesus directs us toward righteousness.  We must replace the destructive habits with a new “habit” of pursuing the Kingdom, to the point of hungering and thirsting.  If you fail today, pray for forgiveness and start again tomorrow.  Don’t give up for Our Heavenly Father will respond to your intent to become acceptable in HIS sight.  You are the steward of your focus, nobody else!

Most people are looking for self-glorification.  This is a primary motivation of the ego and it works 24 hours a day to achieve this exalted state.  It will use whatever means necessary to promote itself above others.  When Jesus was tempted by the devil, the final temptation was to be given dominion over the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  At the time, Jesus did not dispute the devil’s authority.  Instead, he spoke “Away with you,fn Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”  Jesus knew that the devil’s dominion was not everlasting, but only for a temporary period of time until the authority would be transferred at the Cross.

Matthew 5:5

5 ​​Blessed are the meek,

​​For they shall inherit the earth.

We are all earthen vessels, also known as the clay of the Potter.  Adam was formed from the dust of the earth.  If the above Beatitude, there are three critical words: meek, inherit and earth associated with the blessing.

Of great concern to a mature son is the glorification of the body… or our own earth.  We are the Temple of the Holy Ghost and HIS Glory shall fill our Temple.  Our desire is to receive our inheritance (glorification) in our earth (body).  With this in mind, let us focus on other key word: meek.  This word is used three times in the Scripture.  The two other verses:

Matthew 21:5 

“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

1 Peter 3:4

rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

Gentle, lowly, and moderation are words best describing “the meek”.  This person is not trying to exalt himself above others but is submitting to Our Heavenly Father and seeking to do HIS will.  This person is the one has emptied himself and has released those selfish desires of the ego.  By overcoming the desire for self-glorification, he has readied himself for his inheritance: receiving the Presence of Our Heavenly Father, the glorification of his “earth”.

Each of us must determine who we are going to serve: Our Heavenly Father or “self”.  This is the battle in our mind and we are to present our “earth” as a sacrifice:

Romans 12: 1  Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Additionally:

:2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Wisdom instigates the renewing process.  We first must acknowledge the fact that we must change.  Until then, you are destined to keep yourself in turmoil.  You will make the same mistake over and over, expecting different results.  Are you willing to break the cycle?  Which glory do you want?  Your own or HIS?  Jesus has provided us the roadmap to the Kingdom.  HE has given us the keys.  You either believe HIS Words or you don’t.  HIS Kingdom is my choice.  Let our actions confirm our choice!

As some of you know, Pam had a vivid dream we mentioned in our Bible study on 11/16.  Further, our beloved friends from the Emerald Isle who watch the Bible study sent us a confirmation of the prophetic nature of the dream.  The dream was centered around a funeral home where both funerals and a wedding were taking place.  Bill and Maureen’s email focused on the events in the Mourne Mountains.  This last week (11/23), we read their email further describing the dream’s confirmation.  The dream brings us to the next statement made by Jesus on the Mount:

Matthew 5:4 

Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.

I must confess that this verse was never one of my favorite passages.  It denoted loss of a loved one to me.  However, let’s look at it in the context of yesterday’s post where we empty ourselves of “self”.  Mourning and sorrow are necessary acts of release.  When you lose a loved one, you enter into a time of mourning until your soul has fully accepted the release of the loved one.  The sooner you realize that the loved one is no longer suffering and is now being reconciled to Our Heavenly Father, your sorrow turns to joy.  Your time of mourning ends and full release occurs.  When you begin to die to self and see that you have wasted much time and energy over the years by clinging to the selfish motives, sorrow ensues.  What was I thinking?

As you die to self you will go through a mourning process, though you may not fully understand it.  This type of mourning will be a time of release and regret.  As this occurs Our Heavenly Father will comfort you for HIS Divine Love takes up residence where “self” once resided.  There will be an unspeakable joy expressed in your life.  You will sense a greater presence of Our Heavenly Father in you.  Your body will begin to respond and move toward its Divine design and corruption will begin to dissipate from you.  This change may begin slowly but you will see markers along the way that will encourage you.  As you line up with HIS Intent, your soul first responds, then your body must respond and align itself with this fresh Intent.  During the process, you shall be comforted!

Our Heavenly Father sent HIS Son to direct us to the Kingdom of GOD.  Jesus did not expound countless formulas and methods for us to follow in order to enter in.  His words were directed toward communicating principles to live by rather than specific rules and regulations to follow.  His Sermon on the Mount began:

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To be poor in spirit means we must empty ourselves of all desire to exercise and promote our self-will.  We must set aside all of our past assumptions and notions resulting from what man has told us about Our Heavenly Father.  We must wipe the slate clean.  We must acknowledge that the traditions of man may have been false and that they may have hindered our ability to “find” and dwell with Our Heavenly Father.  Habits, possessions, academic distinctions, and reputation can all be impediments to entering into the kingdom of heaven.  You can see why I have written much about “simplifying” your life.  Possessions can place you in bondage and enslave you, preventing you from “entering in”.

The rich young ruler provides us an excellent example of enslavement.  Matthew 19:

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is,God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’fn and,‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth.fn What do I still lack?”

The young man thought he had it made.  He had kept the “Law” from his youth, he had money, and now he was ready to receive an endorsement and affirmation from the “Good Teacher”.  Now Jesus presents the principle of “emptying self”:

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus uses the word “perfect”, the same word used in 1 John 4:18 describing Love as being the bond of perfection.  If you want to come to full maturity as a Son, you must empty yourself of anything that would enslave you.  Your ego will fight to the bitter end.  The rich young man was not willing to give up his possessions.  He was enslaved by the love of money.  His trust was in the money and this is what caused the gate to be shut.  Whether it be money, fame, or other possessions, are you willing to empty yourself for the Kingdom’s sake?

Romans 12:2   And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

In Friday’s post we focused on the good, acceptable, and perfect.  Today, let’s focus on “renewing” our minds.  One of our greatest challenges is to shift our thinking away from our own sphere of experience.  We all have a tendency to believe what we see and hear, no matter what the source.  We begin by listening to our parents.  Later, others in authority impact our thoughts and beliefs.  Teachers, officials, politicians, and others who have some foundation of credibility impact our thinking.

In Wednesday’s post, I focused on Truth.  All Truth originates from Our Heavenly Father and if we want to immerse ourselves in the Truth, we must meditate on HIS Word day and night.  To do this, we must train our mind.  This is the act of renewing our mind.  If we don’t discipline our minds, we WILL be conformed to this world and all its trappings.  Those who are currently in power are counting on this.  Advertising agencies are hoping that you don’t renew your mind because they want to sell you another knickknack to gather dust on the shelf or in the closet.

If you will take time to renew your mind, you will begin to flow with the Spirit.  Your life will become more effective and you will be drawn into your calling.  However, it takes discipline.  You must set aside those thoughts of lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life.  You must identify anything negative that does not line up with HIS Word and cast those vain imaginations down.  First, clear your mind.  Remove the noise.  Turn off the television, computer, cell phone, radio…  Go into the closet if you have to.  You must quiet your mind.

Your spirit should control your mind and body.  The flesh controls the weak in spirit.  As we focus on knowledge without wisdom and understanding, the mind begins to take control.  We then begin to overanalyze everything and we become suspicious by nature.  Our minds create problems to be solved.  We begin to rationalize away anything that would suggest that we are on the wrong path.  After all, would our own mind betray us?  Absolutely!

Judges 17:5 The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols;fn and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In the book of Judges, Israel would be delivered and then revert back to their previous traditions.  The cycle of judgment would start over and create another need for deliverance.  Each time, the time of judgment increased in length.

Our mind is not the source of Truth, Our Heavenly Father is.  Our mind will attempt to control us and steer us away from Truth.  Men have conjured up all sorts of alternatives to the Truth.  They would have us believe that life does not begin until the child comes through the birth canal, as though the child was an inanimate object for nine months.  They would have us believe that disease is the absence of a pharmaceutical drug.  The mind creates enemies and adversaries, Love reconciles them.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Truth, honesty, justice, purity, lovely, good reports, virtue, and praiseworthy… this should be what we think about, meditate on, and place our focus.

Notice that Truth comes first.  If you know the Truth, you can discern the others in the list.  Renewing the mind requires us to meditate, think, dwell on HIS Word.  If you bombard your senses with other sources, don’t expect to mature as a Son of GOD.  Loud music is designed to dull our sense of hearing.  250 cables channels are designed to burn up the time, eliminating any time for meditation.  Is entertainment bad?  No, just excessive, unbalanced, time-burning attention to anything that would draw you away from becoming sensitive to HIS Spirit would be an issue.

When we renew our minds, we are then prepared to minister life to others.  Once our mind is renewed, we become purveyors of the Truth, a standard of light to those residing in darkness.  Our life will expose the lawlessness and promote repentance.  Our joy will be like a magnet to those in turmoil and they will want to experience that same heartfelt joy in their lives.  Wisdom and understanding will come forth out of your mouth.  As you renew your mind, you will focus on what is important and relevant to your calling rather than just biding time.  As a man I knew once said, “Stop your stinking thinking!”  Only those with a renewed mind will truly be able to bring for the Kingdom.  Everyone else will be attending the school of “correction”.