Blessed Are - Part 8

tonight we're going to continue actually we're going to conclude our series based on Matthew 5 the blessed R series talking about the biatitudes. I will say next week pastor Allan is starting a brand new series called gym series and that is going to take place starting next week. It's not an active gym so nobody get nervous. I saw some of you thinking you needed to wear your tennis shoes next week, but it's on the book of James. There you go. So, gym series starting next week on Wednesday night. So, be please be here for that. And then I will say just before I get into my teaching tonight, I would like to again just say thank you to all of those. was a few weeks ago we made a presentation regarding One Church Boston and this church responded in such a an amazing way and I've not been able to publicly thank this church for their response and I wanted to do that right now and just again say thank you and express just how blessed Lindsay and I feel to be a part of such an amazing sending church. Amen. Amen. Amen. You know, let me just say this and I will get to teaching. I promise. It's okay to make some noise in church tonight. All right. >> All right. Bump your neighbor beside you and say, "Hey, it's okay." >> It's okay. All right. I believe in the church being alive. Amen.

>> I believe the church is alive. I believe Jesus is alive. We talked about that Sunday, right? If Jesus wasn't alive and the church wasn't alive, this would just be a museum. And that wouldn't be a whole lot of fun, would it? Amen. And so let's be active tonight. Tonight I want to teach on this topic blessed through persecution. Now I said let's get active and then I'll talk about persecution. And I'm sure all of you are ready to start running laps right now in Jesus' name. But the truth is that if we are going to be Christ centered, we have to be willing to be different. If we are going to be Christ centered, then we're going to have to live a life different than the world around us. And this is the issue. This is the place of tension. This is the dividing line for a lot of people. A lot of people want the blessed life, but they don't want to live the separated life. They don't want to live the kind of life that God can bless. Now, in this room, I'm sure this would be a unanimous yes. But if I were to even poll the entire city of Murphy'sboro tonight and ask them, "Do you want peace in your house?" I would assume the vast majority, if not all of Murphy'sboro, would say, "Yes, we want peace in our house." Or if I were to ask, "Do you want joy in your home?" Again, I would assume that the majority of people would say, "Yes, I would like joy in my home." Or if I were to say, "Do you want your kids to be protected or to have a strong marriage or have the favor of God on your life?" Again, I would assume that the majority of people in Murphreey'sboro would say yes.

But the reality is we would enjoy the blessings of God while not necessarily living the life that God desires for us to live. And again, the blessings of God, they rest solely on those that have their lives centered on Jesus Christ. Pastor talks about this, and we hear this a lot, but he's either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. And that's a reality for us is that he doesn't want to just be a part-time God in your life. He doesn't want to just be the God you serve on Sundays, but not the God you serve on Mondays or Tuesdays or Wednesdays or Thursdays. And so in Matthew chapter 5, we see Jesus, he's teaching on the biatitudes. He's talking about how to live this blessed life. He's showing us the kind of spirit and the kind of attitude and the kind of values that a person needs to have so that heaven blesses them. And again, in this room, if I were to ask you, do you want heaven to bless you? I would pray and assume that the majority of you, if not all of you, would say, "Yes, Pastor Wesley, I want to have the heavens continually bless my life." But we look in our world today and we see the lack of biblical blessing. We see people who have all kinds of money but they have no peace. There are people that have all time of all types of hobbies or activities but there's no unity in their life.

There's no lack of entertainment but in our world there seems to be no prayer and people with religion but no power. And so again, we have to ask ourselves as Christians, are we truly Christians if Jesus Christ is not at the center of our life? Tonight, my part of my goal is to communicate the essential need that Jesus Christ is not just a part of your life, but that he is indeed your entire life. that everything you do that everything you put your hand to is covered and willed by the Lord himself. So that the question has to become not do we go to church or do we believe in God or do we consider ourselves Christians. The question really is Jesus the center of our lives. This whole series we've been talking about blessings from God. that these blessings are not attached to folks who label themselves as Christians. These blessings are attached to people who have made Christ the center of their world. Christianity nowadays, and I don't have to say it, this room understands this, but Christianity nowadays means so much to so many different people. To say that I'm a Christian, there's varying degrees of that. And I'm not going through all of the ins and outs of what the Christian label looks like, but the truth is that someone can say that they're a Christian and in reality they're only serving God every once in a while or going to church when it's convenient or they believe in God in a vague way or they keep some type of Christian tradition.

But again, these people would be people that I would say and maybe they would even say about themselves that Jesus is not their entire worldview. And again, I I've just come tonight to remind us at the very beginning of this lesson that Jesus does not desire to be a part-time God in your life. He doesn't desire to be a part-time savior. He doesn't desire to be a part-time Lord. He wants himself to be at the center of your life. Tonight, it should be our goal to ensure that when we leave this place that Jesus is indeed on the throne of our lives. That he is where he ought to be, where he desires to be. And that is again on the throne of your life. Our values need to speak to him being the Lord of our life. Our choices need to be shaped by him. Our speech needs to be shaped by him. Our spending, our entertainment, our relationships, our future all need to be determined by the Lord. Again, we need to make sure that we don't just live a life that looks holy, but we actually need to be holy. Living a separated life to Jesus Christ. Tonight, I'm making no bones about it. Jesus wants to be all in all for you. He wants to be the answer to every problem, the answer to every question that you have. But with that comes a promise in the word of God that we don't necessarily love.

It says it very simply in the Bible that if Jesus is your God, if Jesus is at the center of your life, you are going to face persecution. And again, I understand when I share this tonight, you're not going to run laps on that. Nobody's like, "Yes, we want to be the First United Persecuted Church." But the truth is again is that if you make Jesus the Lord of your life, you will face persecution. If you live for the Lord, you will be misunderstood by this world. It's a it's an impossibility, especially in 2026, to live a holy lifestyle and for people not to notice you. and you stick out when you live a holy life. You go to the ball field and you're living a holy life. You look different. When you choose certain types of conversations but avoid others, you're going to be noticed by other people. If you're living by biblical convictions, then people are going to see you as different than the vast majority of the world around them. If you choose prayer over popularity, if you choose church over convenience, if you choose righteousness over compromise, people are going to pay you attention. And I wish I could tell you tonight that when you face this, it's always going to be positive. They're going to give you stickers that say, "Way to go. Way to way to be what the Bible tells you to be." But we know unfortunately the world's not handing out those kind of stickers and pats on the back.

No. Often times when people see this, they will instead of praising you, they will resist you. They will mock you. They will roll their eyes. They will call you things like extreme or legalistic. They will say that you're doing too much for the kingdom of God or you're going to church too much or your church is weird or your family is doing things unnecessary or your standards are at such a high level that nobody can live up to them. And again, we should not be surprised by this because Jesus plainly says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 10-2, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you who when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Jesus says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake." We should expect this. Again, I know I'm preaching a heavy word tonight. And again, nobody is going to just celebrate the truth that living a separated lifestyle guarantees you persecution. But we need to see that in the word of God, but we also need to notice this that it doesn't just say Jesus will bless those if you're persecuted because I think sometimes we feel almost on the opposite extreme of if we face persecution, we must be doing something right.

The Bible doesn't say blessed are those that are persecuted. Blessed are those who have a bitter spirit and cause offense or blessed are those that are rude or ugly or harsh or arrogant or unkind. No, he says blessed are those that face persecution for his righteousness. For his righteous sake. That is why we are blessed. We're not blessed. I wish I could get somebody to understand this tonight. We're not blessed whenever somebody's against us. Just because somebody's against you doesn't mean you're doing something right. When someone's against you and you're doing it for his righteousness sake, well, that's a whole different category. Does this make sense? We need to be mindful. Just I see too many people that are ugly or rude and they're like, "Well, I knew I'd be facing this kind of persecution." No, you need an attitude adjustment. You need the fruit of the spirit working through you, right? just cuz you go to work on Monday and you're ugly to everybody and then they're like, "Well, we don't like so and so." That's not a moment for you to celebrate and be like, "I've done my job. They hate me." Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Blessed are those that are standing for truth. Blessed are those that are doing things that please God. Blessed are those that live a lifestyle of worship. These are things if you're going to be persecuted for, be persecuted for these things, not an ugly spirit.

And here's the truth tonight is that if you're living according to the word of God, you are fully preapprove preapproved right now for heavenly blessings. You're preapproved. Now, some of you are too young in the room to understand this, but I like the idea of being pre-approved for something. I remember the first time I was preapproved to go buy a car. My bank said I was worth this much money. And I wasn't going to argue with them. I was like, I guess like y'all y'all seem professional enough and I've clearly confused you, but you tell me I can spend this. Okay, I'll go do that. And I I'll never forget I went to that car lot and walked around and I had my chest sticking out a little bit that extra that day. I was like I can probably just buy about you know a third of the cars here. I couldn't buy all of them but you know still had to live in reality but I was like man I can buy one of these things. Felt good to be preapproved nowadays. You know sometimes you get those offers in the mail from credit cards saying you're pre-approved. It doesn't mean quite the same now but there's something great about being preapproved. And I want to share tonight that if you are living according to the word of God and despite the persecution that you face, you are pre-approved for heavenly blessings. That may make that ought to make somebody excited tonight.

Somebody ought to just say, you know what? I'm thankful tonight that I'm pre-approved for blessings. >> That I don't have to be somebody. that I don't have to do a certain thing for the kingdom of God as far as preaching some conference or going on some crazy missions trip. I just because I'm obedient to the word of God and obedient to what his spirit has told me to do. I am pre-approved for heavenly blessings. >> I listen, if we're going to talk about persecution tonight, we might as well get excited about the blessings that come from God. >> These aren't blessings that come from Chick-fil-A. And I like Chick-fil-A. I'm talking tonight about heavenly blessings. I'm talking about blessings that only God can give you. I'm talking about blessings that are supernatural that no man can explain. >> Truth is tonight is that not everybody's going to like you when you're living according to the word of God. Cain hated Abel and it's not because Abel had done evil. It was because Abel had done right. Cain hated him for it. Cain hated the fact that Abel's obedience spoke to Cain's disobedience. What Abel was able to surrender to, Cain was unwilling to. And this caused for his brother to be bitter at him. Sometimes it feels like people are angry at you. And I want to help somebody tonight. They're not angry at you because they don't like you. They're angry at you because you bring conviction into their world.

They don't like you not because of your words. They're irritated by your standards, by the fact that you're living for something that's bigger than this world. I'm going to tell you right now, maybe no one else faces this, but there are times where I'm talking to people and I can tell they're upset with me because I'm a Christian. They're upset with me because I live a different life than the vast majority of the people. It doesn't convenience them. Well, I'm sorry. I I'm sorry that I'm not sorry. I guess I don't care if my convictions don't convenience you. I'm going to do what thus sayeth the word of God. >> I'm going to stand for truth. I'm going to do what is biblically correct. Again, tonight, persecution should never come as a surprise. We should expect persecution. We should know it's coming our ways. And so tonight, I want to give three thoughts on what to do with persecution. Everybody okay? Pump your neighbor check and say, "Are you okay? You good? You good, bro? You good, sis? Persecution's coming. What do we do? Here's three thoughts. One, we expect persecution. Stop living in denial. If you're doing what the word of God says, you're going to face persecution." Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:12, he said, 'Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Not maybe will face persecution or might face persecution or occasionally when you're extra spiritual.

No, it's saying if you're living a godly lifestyle, you will suffer persecution. This is not a persecution that's only for those in ministry. All right? Don't don't buy the facade that only the ones that are interceding are the ones that are going to be facing some spiritual warfare. No. If you're if you are in this room tonight, I promise you the devil's not happy with you. He's not patting you on the back saying, "Wait to make it to church tonight." No, you're going to face some things. You're going to face some persecution. If you're trying to live a dedicated life to the Lord if you're really praying, you're going to face some pressure. If you're really worshiping, you're going to feel some way. If you're trying to live holy, separated, and obey truth, then you're going to feel some pressure from those who are unhappy with the lifestyle that you're living. So, we need to teach this and we need to understand this that we are going to face persecution. In fact, let me let me just say this. If you're facing persecution tonight, I want you to take a deep breath and realize there's a reason you're going through that. God's not mad at you. The devil just wants to stop you. The enemy, we have an adversary and he does not enjoy the church living in blessing. He does not enjoy seeing you things that he knows he can never obtain for himself.

So, he's going to constantly try to kill, steal, and destroy every promise that's attached to you. But if you're going through some persecution tonight, if you're going through some pressure, if you're dealing with some heavyweights, I want to encourage you tonight by telling you you're probably right where God wants you to be. >> And I want to give you another encouraging word, and that is this. God doesn't fail. >> God doesn't lose. >> Yeah, it might feel like right now you're in a season of losing, but you hang on. YOU HANG ON. YOU STAY RIGHT there beside the Lord, and you'll see he's already wearing the victor's crown. >> If you're facing persecution, don't don't ask yourself, "Well, maybe I'm doing something wrong, or maybe I should back down, or maybe I should tone it down." No, that's when you should be even more aggressive. more excited saying, "I must be close to what God has for me because I'm feeling all I'm fighting all kinds of demons and devils this week." John 15:18, Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of this world, therefore the world hates you." Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Folks, this is plain tonight. They we realize this. We went just through the Easter season. We know Jesus faced persecution. If Jesus faced persecution, what would make us think that somehow we're going to get to avoid it? What world are we living in if we think everything's going to be rainbows and butterflies and cotton candy and Twinkies have no calories? No, we that we don't live in the a fantasy world. If they persecuted Jesus, then we are going to feel weight oursel. We are going to go be conflicted with the pressures of this world. And again, I'm not today suggesting that because we are going to feel things from this world and feel pressures that we can live this life of being offensive. No, we still remain who God's called us to be. Despite the weight you're feeling, despite the pressures, despite the persecution, we ought to still be people full of love, >> full of grace, full of humility, full of kindness. Just because you're feeling the weight of the world does not give you permission to be ugly. Okay. All right. When we're feeling these things, know that we must be very close to what God has for us. Don't don't tonight don't apologize for being different. Don't don't act embarrassed because you live a different lifestyle. Be thankful that you're getting to do that. be thankful because by being different than the world around you. I want to encourage you with this, that just must mean that you belong to God.

>> God has always had a separated people. He's always had a people that were distinguished and different than the world around them. And again, I've come tonight as a sounding board to remind Centerpoint that the apostolic church has never thrived by blending in. We have never thrived spiritually by just being blended in with the world that is around us. We in these days have to be clearly apostolic. We have to be clear in our doctrine. We have to be clear in our identity. We have to be clear in our holiness. We have to be clear in our worship. We have to be clear in our mission. >> This is not a time to be embarrassed by who God has called you to be. This is the church's finest hour. This is the time where we ought to be the most apostolic. We are indeed an apostolic church growing apostolic families. That's not a banner to run from. That's a banner to run to. That we are indeed apostolic. >> We are apostolic on Sunday. We're apostolic on Monday. We're apostolic on Tuesday. We're apostolic on Wednesday. >> We don't take off our apostolic hat when we go to work. No, we're apostolic on the workplace. AT THE WORKPLACE. WHAT BETTER PLACE TO BE apostolic when there's a lot of lost people around us? I hope this sounds okay. And I promise I'm not trying to be overly direct, but the truth is that I love it when you come here and you're apostolic, but you coming here and being apostolic means very little.

If you go out there and you're not apostolic at all, >> that's where the Lord really needs you to be apostolic. Let's go back TO ACTS ONE. YOU HAVE THE HOLY GHOST for a reason. And it's not just so that you can play patty cake on a pew on a Sunday morning, but that you can go out and be an apostolic witness that you're empowered by the spirit of the living God. >> We have to be clear. We have to be clear because there is pressure rising against us. I was just over in Canada over the weekend and they just passed a bill called Bill C9. Now, I know most of you are not in your Canadian politics right now, but basically what they've done is they've passed this bill that can punish hate speech with prison time. We're not talking like over the weekend prison time. some serious and what they've gone even further and said even if you have to be careful from the Bible because they're attaching hate speech to portions of the word of God. Now you say, "Well, that's Canada." But the reality is that could be us tomorrow. >> So we need to make sure that right now we are clearly apostolic, clearly in the word of God. We don't need to run from our identity, we need to make sure that we are who God has called us to be. And the reason why is when pressure starts hitting us.

We need to make sure that we've already been founded and grounded in the truth. It's not time to bend a knee. >> It's not a time to surrender when you're feeling pressure. That's a time to stand strong. >> Stand rooted in the word of God. We need to expect persecution. Secondly, we need to endure persecution. Don't just expect it, endure it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:12, "And we labor, working with our own hands, being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we endure. I'm looking tonight for some steady eddies. Some folks that say, "I don't I don't care what this world throws at me. I'm going to endure it. I don't care what the trends are of our world. I'm going to stay true to God. I'm going to remain faithful. I'm going to remain submitted. I'm going to remain grounded. I'm going to remain holy. I'm going to remain full of the spirit. I'm going to remain committed to the house of God and to the word of God. We need to get to a place in our lives where despite the trends or what's popular around the world, we say we are fully committed to enduring and being attached to the word of God. Enduring doesn't mean that we necessarily ignore what people are saying about us. We just acknowledge it and move on with our lives. Well, so and so they make fun of me at work because I'm Pentecostal. endure it. When's the last time you tried to get even with somebody at work by they call you Pentecostal?

You're like, "Well, you're, you know, blah blah blah." When's that worked out for you? Some of y'all knew exactly what that blah blah blah was. You thought that we have to endure the persecution. But I promise you this, when you face that persecution and you endure it, what happens is your roots go deeper in your relationship with God. When you can stand firm on what you believe, it doesn't diminish your convictions, it makes your convictions stronger. Again, it goes back to this idea that your identity in Christ becomes even clearer when you face persecution and you endure it. It actually enables your walk with God to grow stronger. And again, this is the hour where the church needs each and every one of us. The Lord desires for each and every one of us to know who we are and who'sse we are. You know, I worked in youth ministry for a long time. Some might say too long, I don't know. But what I always noticed about young people, and if you have teenagers or even young kids, you you'll notice this peer pressure plays a big role in their life. You know, my kid has to he comes home and I got to have this shirt. Like, buddy, you got shirts. He's like, but everybody has this shirt. Okay. Well, just cuz they have this shirt doesn't mean you have to have that shirt. Try telling an 8-year-old or a 10-year-old that. Teenagers are always kind of acknowledging the world around us.

But I feel to remind the adults in the room that surely we can rise above the typical mindset of a teenager. And when we go to work, we just acknowledge this is who we are. when we're at Kroger. This is just we are Pentecostal. >> I don't I don't care what's trending on Instagram. >> Y'all don't even Some of y'all don't even know what Tik Tok is, but I don't care what's on Tik Tok. If you got it, delete that stuff. Okay, I'm meddling now. But anyways, be who God has called you to be. Don't bend your knee to the pressures of this world. Make sure that you are clearly and fully who God desires for you to be. Again, this is not the hour for confusion. This is not the hour for compromise. This is not the hour to have one foot in and one foot out. Folks, I I've come tonight to tell you, yes, you're going to face persecution, but you're going to have to endure it. You're going to have to endure it. And endurance is not a weakness. It's spiritual strength. It speaks to spiritual maturation whenever you can endure what the enemy throws your way. So we expect it, we endure it, and also thirdly, we embrace it. Paul Peter said this in 1 Peter chapter 4:12, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though something happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rest upon you." And verse 16 says, "Yet if another suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter." Let him glorify God. If you're going to face persecution, I would encourage you to learn to embrace it. Embrace it. Embrace the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Some of the most miserable people I know are people that once received the Holy Ghost, but now the cost of being a follower of Christ seems too great. And they just don't want to live it anymore. They don't want to do it anymore, and they're just going through the motions. It causes people to be miserable. I've seen it time after time after time. But the strongest Christians that I know are Christians or apostolics who fully embrace the cost of following Jesus Christ. They it somehow excites them to know that there's going to be a cost attached to having a relationship with Jesus. I'm talking about people that understand and recognize that there is a cross to carry. And it wasn't a cross that just Jesus carries. It's a cross that each and each and every one of us on a daily basis have to decide to carry. I'm talking about people who look at their flesh and know that my flesh has to be crucified. That I am indeed crucified with Christ.

These are the people that I see living a not just an overcoming life but a life full of joy and peace. because they've answered this question in their life. I'm talking about people that fully acknowledge that in order for the Lord to increase, I have to decrease. And they don't do it with a bitter spirit. They do it with joy in their heart. They are excited for every opportunity to serve the king and the kingdom because they know every time they serve and they get on their knees and do something for the Lord, they are decreasing. But he is increasing in this world. There is an awesome reward. The Bible says there is glory attached to when we go through seasons of persecution. We are blessed by the Lord when we embrace these opportunities and we acknowledge the reality that when we're going through the fire and when we're facing the pressures of this world that there's going to be something that comes out on the other end that's greater than what we had before. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. God doesn't allow seasons of pain to go without some level of purpose. He's not some mean God that's just sitting back tonight seeing the persecution, the weight, the pressures that you're having to deal with and looking back and saying, "Well, I just hope they get through it." No, he's I feel this in my spirit. He's actively cheering you on, saying, "YOU'VE GOT THIS.

KEEP GOING. I know what's on the other side. If you will just endure this season, if you will just expect for the persecution to keep going just a little bit more, if you will embrace where you're at, I've got something on the other side that will truly bless your life. Acts 5:40, I'm talking about embracing persecution just like the apostolic did in the book of Acts. In Acts 5:40 says, "And they agreed with him. And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded them that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go." Do you think they stopped? No. In verse 41, so they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. What kind of lunatics are these? They were told not to preach the name of Jesus. Now they're leaving saying, "Yippee, WE JUST GOT BEATEN. WE are counting this as a high privilege. And it goes on to say, "And daily in the temple and in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." >> Folks, this is apostolic. >> This is what it looks like to be apostolic. This is what it looks like to embrace persecution. Yes. the world gets unhappy when you preach the name of Jesus. And by doing so, it should make YOU WANT TO PREACH IT, THE more because my Bible SAYS THAT THERE'S NO OTHER NAME under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

When we're preaching the name of Jesus, every demon in hell is going to fight against you. >> AND THAT SHOULD EXCITE YOU BECAUSE IT MEANS YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. In Acts chapter 5, we see these people. They were beaten. Yet, they kept preaching. They were threatened and they kept teaching. They were opposed. But they kept gathering house to house. Why? Because Jesus was the center of their life. Folks, we're going to face persecution. And the only way that we're going to be able to get through it and get to hear those words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," is if we learn to expect, endure, and embrace the persecutions that we're going to face tonight. I I've got just a few more minutes, but I want to attach and make sure that we understand that we're not just going to go through persecution, but that we're going to be blessed through it. this whole this whole series on the biatitudes. Some of y'all y'all thought biatitudes was just like a certain type of attitude to have. But in Matthew 5, when Jesus is preaching this crowd, he's sharing with them how to live and how to be a person inside the kingdom of God that lives a blessed life. He He's teaching us that there are certain things that you're going to have to do in order to be a blessed individual of the Lord. And he gets at the very end of this sermon and he says, "Hey, but just know that the blessings they're going to be attached to some persecution.

But when you get through the persecution, there are going to be heavenly blessings poured out on you that otherwise you would not have received. Blessed, he says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. He's going to bless you. And I'm not talking tonight about financial blessings. I'm not talking tonight about positional blessings at your workplace. I'm talking about a blessing that can truly only come from heaven. I'm talking about blessings that are attached with boldness and truth and purity and spiritual identity. I'm talking about living a blessed apostolic life. So in Matthew chapter 5 as we stand tonight, here's the reality is that the blessings that we've been talking about this entire series is not some type of material blessing only. Will God bless you with wonderful material things? Sure. Sure. But that's what a sad God we would serve if that's all he could bless us with is things that we see other people blessed with that are not living for the Lord. See here here's the truth tonight. When God says you're going to be blessed, he he's not just talking about some type of material increase. He's talking and tying it back to what he told Abraham in Genesis 15 when he spoke to Abram and he told Abram, "Abram, I am your exceeding great reward." >> The these are the blessings that I'm talking about tonight. when you live a life like he's talked about here in Matthew 5 and you are following what the word of God says and you get to this place of persecution and you feel the weight and pressure of the world but you make up in your mind I'm going to get through it there is a blessing attached to that and that blessing is not WHAT YOU GET FROM him the blessing is that you get him that's the blessing Matthew Five, the blessed life.

The those that are blessed, THEY ARE BLESSED NOT WITH material things. THEY'RE BLESSED THAT THEY GET Jesus Christ, that they get the kingdom of heaven, THAT THEY GET TO ATTACH THEMSELVES TO SOMETHING THAT LIVES OUTSIDE OF THIS world in this time. TONIGHT, I'M TALKING TO A GROUP OF PEOPLE, AND I I'm TRYING TO REMIND YOU, YOU'RE A BLESSED PEOPLE, NOT BECAUSE OF THE CAR THAT YOU DRIVE OUTSIDE. YOU'RE A BLESSED PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE NAME OF JESUS Christ because on a Wednesday NIGHT YOU GET TO COME TO CHURCH AND YOU GET TO FEEL HIS PRESENCE. THAT'S a blessed life. IT'S A BLESSED LIFE BECAUSE YOU GET TO GO OUT TOMORROW AND YOU GET TO TELL SOMEBODY WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU AND HOW HE CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND HOW HE'S MADE YOUR LIFE BETTER. THAT'S THE BLESSED LIFE THAT I'M TALKING about tonight. And here's the truth. And I'm coming to a close. I know it's Wednesday night, but here's the here's the deal. Deuteronomy 28:2, the Lord says this. He says, "All these blessings shall come on thee." And watch this. They're not just going to come on you. They're not just going to be attached to you. They're going to what? They're going to overtake you. IN MATTHEW 5, HE HE'S NOT SAYING YOU'RE going to have just a little bit of blessing or there there's going TO BE A SMIDGE OF BLESSING on your life. He He's saying, "Hey, when this blessing gets on you, IT'S GOING TO OVERTAKE YOU.

IT'S GOING TO CONSUME ALL OF YOU. IT'S GOING TO TELL YOU THAT NO MATTER WHAT YOU'RE FACING, YOU'RE SO BLESSED, IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THIS WORLD THROWS AT YOU, YOU ARE A BLESSED PEOPLE THAT THEY OVERTAKE YOU." TONIGHT, I'M LOOKING AT A GROUP OF PEOPLE and I'm trying to remind you that there are blessings IN THIS ROOM THAT YOU CAN'T COUNT, that you can't number. There are so many blessings that God wants to pour on you that are for you today that you cannot count them all. God told Abram in Genesis 15, he said, "What?" He said, "Get out of your tent and look up. Count the stars that represents the many blessings that I have for you truly tonight. Truly tonight, his blessings don't just attach themselves to you. They truly consume you. They overtake you. I think this is why when we get to an altar for the first time and we feel the Holy Ghost minister to our hearts for the very first time, we can't help but express the joy that's in our life because his blessings start overtaking us. I was praying for a man this last weekend. He was a man that was probably about 6'4 6'5. He weighed a good 300 something pounds. I had to do one of those tippy toe prayers. This man grew up with a Muslim background. But he got in the presence of the Lord, came to an altar for the first time, lifted up his hands.

I began to pray for him. And this is literally what HE DID. I PUT MY HAND ON HIS head and he said this. This man doesn't speak English, by the way. Not well. He does this. Whoa. It wasn't me that he was feeling. It was the POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. It was God ministering to his heart and to his life. He was EXPERIENCING MAYBE FOR THE first time in his life the blessings of God. Tonight I felt so strong to just remind the people in the house tonight that your God is a God who desires to bless you and he blessed you by robing himself in flesh and coming to this earth and dying for you on Calvary. That's his blessing. His blessing IS THAT YOU TONIGHT GET TO RECEIVE HIM. And he is enough. He is enough. If he doesn't give you anything else besides himself, that should overtake you. That should be more than anything this world has to offer. Matthew 5 says, "We are blessed people." And we are a blessed people because we get Jesus. And hear this. What God blesses, the enemy cannot stop and the enemy cannot curse. >> Tonight, you might be facing some persecution. The enemy might be roaring like that lion, but he can't stop you. He can't stop the blessings of God flowing to you. What God blesses, he can't stop. He can't curse. He's a good God and he's a God full of blessing.

Let's bow our heads tonight. Jesus, I pray that as I've delivered your word, God, Lord Jesus, that you've spoken to hearts and lives in the room tonight, God, I felt, Lord Jesus, that there were people in this room that they needed to feel strength. They needed to feel encouraged, God. They needed to be challenged tonight to get back to a place of consecration where you were truly the God of their life. Not just a part, not just a part-time God, but that you are fully their God. Lord, I pray that tonight your spirit would begin to minister to hearts and lives in this room. God, I pray, Lord Jesus, that your spirit would begin to move in this place, God. That you would touch hearts right now, that you would speak to minds right now, Lord Jesus, that you would remind your people that you are truly enough. God, I pray that right now, Lord Jesus, as your spirit begins to guide and lead and talk and minister, that hearts would be opened up to what you have for them. I pray for a spirit of boldness, God. A spirit of strength, God, to rise up in this room, God. That we would be rooted in you, God. That we would be dedicated to you, God. That we would be sold out and consecrated fully to you, God. That we'd be a people of prayer. That we would be a people of power. That we would be a people, God, that carry your burden and share your glory, God, to those that are around us.

I'm going to do something different tonight. I want you to lay your hands on the person beside you. I just want you to put your hand and I want us to pray together right now. I feel the Holy Ghost just wants to minister and talk to somebody in this room right now. Come on right now. Begin to pray for that person beside you. Begin to talk to that person beside you and speak to them and pray over them right now. God, I pray RIGHT NOW, LORD JESUS, that there would be people in this room, God, that would make up in their mind, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We will do what the King has desired. We will pursue the kingdom with all of our heart and with all of our mind. God, we we're going to love you. We're going to be dedicated to you. Come on. Right now, just for a few more minutes, why don't you just pray for that person's >> I'd say, come on, begin to elevate your voice. >> Come on. You're a blessed people tonight. >> Come on. You're a blessed PEOPLE TONIGHT. YOU'RE BLESSED because you're his. You're blessed because he loves you. >> You're blessed because he CARES FOR YOU. YOU'RE BLESSED because he died for you. YOU'RE BLESSED BECAUSE HE SHED HIS BLOOD ON CALVARY FOR YOU. Come on, CHILD OF KING. RIGHT NOW, KNOW THAT YOU'RE BLESSED. >> HEY, this world doesn't agree.

WELL, MY BIBLE SAYS YOU'RE BLESSED TONIGHT. >> Come on. I say, child of God. Come on. If you feel right now to keep praying with boldness, just pray a little more right now. Pray a little louder right now. Come on. Faith is rising up in this room. >> Come on. All pray in the gifts of the spirit. If you feel led to pray for somebody new, pray for them. >> I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. There's a hunger. >> That's it. That's it. had a thirst. >> Jesus in your name. >> I am desperate. I mercy. I'm not waiting. Not anymore. I need you, Lord. I need you. >> Come on. That's it. And we're not talking about a cute blessing. We're talking about the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ. We're talking about the blessing that's going to carry you through that's going to help you endure. Embrace what the enemy throws at you. I need you. I need you, Lord. I need you all as a hunger and a thirst. I am desperate in thirst. >> Hallelujah Jesus. with every eye closed and every hand lifted right now. >> Lord, >> God, we thank you tonight. >> We thank you for the word of God. We're thankful, God, that you would robe yourself and come to this earth and speak truth, God, that we are indeed blessed by you, God. God, I pray that tonight, Lord Jesus, we would leave this place with all the blessings attached to who and what, God, you've called us to be.

Lord, I pray for every person in this room tonight. God, let your spirit continue to guide them. Lead them in truth. Lord, we give you praise in Jesus' name. In Jesus name. Amen. Love you all. Thank you so much for being here tonight. God bless you. You're dismissed in Jesus name.