Fresh Bread

Guest (Male): You are listening to Fresh Bread, Dr. Harry Reeder’s daily devotional from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Harry Reeder: Luke chapter 6, where Jesus has just initiated what is called the Sermon on the Mount. He finds a level place as Luke tells us, and there He begins to teach. As is true in the fuller account of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7, here in Luke 6, we have it starting just as the way the Sermon on the Mount is declared to start in Matthew 5, with the Beatitudes.

I like the way one person said "be-attitudes." Being who you are in Christ as it affects your attitudes. Here is what it says in verse 20 of chapter 6: "And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples and said, 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For so their fathers did to the prophets.'" Jesus is ministering to them, and He starts off in what is called the Constitution of the Kingdom of God, the Sermon on the Mount, and it begins with the foundational issues of the Beatitudes.

This is not the full list that you find in Matthew 5, but it does contain certain salient Beatitudes that are also found in Matthew 5. For instance, He says, "You’re blessed when you’re poor." Most of us wouldn't think of being blessed when we’re poor. But He said you’re blessed when you’re poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as money does not secure your salvation, neither does poverty.

He is speaking of something else, and that's borne out in the other account that you find in Matthew. Those who are poor in spirit. In other words, they have said no to self-exaltation, self-absorption, self-reliance, self-promotion. There is poverty of spirit; they are humbled in the Lord. Well, those who humble themselves before the Lord and for the Lord are those who are in the Kingdom of God, and it’s a blessing to have that.

It is a curse to have a heart full of pride. It is a blessing to be poor in spirit. Blessed are you who are hungry, for you’ll be satisfied. Well, hungry for what? Here is a spiritual hunger for the Word of God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. When you’re hungry for God’s Word, God satisfies you as He feeds you His Word and as you begin to grow, gaining not only the milk of the Word but eventually the meat of the Word.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. For those who know the blessing of lament over their sins, they will know the joy of salvation and the laughter of forgiveness. Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn you as evil on account of the Son of Man. Now, notice, He’s not saying that you’re blessed if people spurn you and say things against you because of your obnoxiousness or your evil.

But if you are seeking to serve Christ and the world, out of its hatred of Christ, hates you and spurns you and excludes you, don't go die on a pile of self-pity. What you do is rejoice. In fact, in this one, you actually get a double blessing when men revile you on account of Christ and when they mock you and spurn you and test you on account of Christ. In fact, rejoice in that day, the day of your adversity, and then go beyond rejoicing, leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.

They get their reward by what they do to you. You get your reward by what Christ has done for you. If they reject you, just remember, they rejected the prophets. When you get reviled, then rejoice, for Christ is your glory and your joy. That is another slice of Fresh Bread. See you tomorrow.

Guest (Male): The Bible: fact or myth? How does the Bible stack up against true science? Good questions. Find out the answers. Request this month’s free gift offer, Dr. Reeder’s series "Is the Bible Reliable?" Call 1-800-488-1888.