Blessed is the Man
To the brethren in Christ who share our precious faith,
As the Lord’s chosen people, we are being blessed with innumerable spiritual blessings that further the Lord’s work. Our flesh does not appreciate the Lord’s blessings, yet the blessings are to make us holy and blameless in His sight.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Like Job experienced, we all experience miserable comforters [within and without], who have no spiritual vision, telling us we are anything but blessed based on the seemingly endless trials we endure. Walking by faith, we ignore the wisdom of this world and rather stand on the promises of the Lord and the power of God.
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
The true blessings of the Lord are the experiences that are molding and reshaping us into holy people in His likeness. As we grow into maturity, we do forget and at times grow weary not feeling blessed. It is in these hard trials, that we learn to walk by faith and not by sight. As we mature in the Lord’s timeline, we are able to bring it all back to faith and learn to be thankful for the spiritual blessings He has and is providing.
1Th 5:18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Eph 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The blessings of God are always centered around our sanctification which is the process that is making us pure and holy. We only get there through the work of the Lord, it is His circumcision done by His hands. Yet we are admonished that the work of the Lord can be hastened which is a godly pursuit we should pursue with vigor.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
This is especially true when we are in great trials in our day of the Lord. Christ, our able minister and High Priest, are there to bless us and bring what is needed (comfort, mercy, peace, strength, healing). The Lord is not ever going to leave or forsake us. The ways of Jesus Christ have never changed, even in our latter day’s tribulations, as the OT shadow via the law declares.
Deu 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deu 4:30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
Deu 4:31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them
In our day of the Lord, we are being taught to pray for anything according to His will and we shall receive it. The key part is being according to His will.
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
The Lord wants to bless us richly as it brings about His will and glorifies the Father. We should therefore have full assurance He will provide what we ask, therefore we should be asking rightly according to His will.
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
These blessings are the exercise of our faith that in time enable us to stand thru the trials, to have our faith proven, and see the remaking progress. If we hearken unto His voice and commands then many blessings are poured out and we are advanced in His kingdom.
Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Deu 28:3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Deu 28:4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deu 28:5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. .
Deu 28:6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
The Lord’s blessings are unlikely to be what our flesh desires. Anyone with anything such as good health, sufficient money, a good job, a nice home, a wife, a skill, knowledge, etc.; has received a blessing from the Lord [Php 4:19, Mat 6:33]. But these are not the blessings of God reserved for His chosen people in their day of the Lord. Some are blessed in the physical realm but that is not His purpose when our day of reformation has arrived. It is not about the flesh being profited when the Lord is guiding us towards life.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The Lord’s purpose in saving us is not to make us comfortable in this world. Instead, He is further calling us out of this world to become a set-apart people unto Himself. Thus it is through our faith we can both rejoice knowing the Lord’s plan yet at the same time we can mourn as we endure the hardships the Lord has given us which are advancing His work.
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
It is illogical to the carnal mind yet the hardships we face in this life are one and the same the blessings of God. Thinking of them as God sees them will help us identify and take captive an ungrateful or complaining spirit within ourselves. Let’s remind ourselves whom the Scriptures show are the blessed people of God. This should raise our spirits and comfort us in our trials.
The chosen few are the blessed people of God
Anyone blessed of God has become so not because of anything they did but solely because they have been chosen for salvation and caused by the Lord to dwell in His courts of judgment. It is in His courts where spiritual fruit is being established within us and grown unto maturity.
Psa 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou (The Lord) choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Our zeal to know and follow the ways of the Lord comes when the Lord gives us that desire and then fills that desire in our appointed times.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Our blessing brings the certainty of persecution
The true church is called out separated from the world and its carnal ways. This brings swift rejection and persecution upon those who do not follow after their traditions and way of thinking. With time, we learn to rejoice in our rejection and see it as confirmation of the Lord’s presence working in our lives.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Being divided from and rejected by the entire carnal world is a blessing that is necessary for us to be mature in Christ. This variance with others is to be expected and we will grow to see it as a huge blessing.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
This isolation is painful at first yet the man of faith is learning to rejoice and count our worldly rejection as the blessing it is. Being separated from the world, we are not partaking in their activities and think way differently per the law of faith. The Lord rewards those who believe and do what is right in due time.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Those who fear God are blessed
We learn the fear of the Lord by the favor [grace] of the Lord which is put upon us. Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. This is the wonderful work of the Lord to the children of men as we learn obedience by the things we are given to suffer.
Psa 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
Psa 112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
It is by experiencing the wrath of God that we come to trust the Lord while being shown firsthand the power of God unto salvation.
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Taught by our experiences, the fear of the Lord becomes a foundational anchor, a spiritual treasure (blessing) to those chosen in this age.
Isa 33:6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the LORD is His treasure.
Following the Lord by faith is only for the blessed
We are reaping what we sow in the walk of faith. Give and it is given back unto us. The man with the ten talents was given even more because he was faithful with what he had been given. The Lord truly rewards those who diligently seek Him and act upon their given measure of faith.
Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Jer 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
As our faith grows and overcoming increases, lasting spiritual fruit comes. We are learning patience and endurance trusting in the promises not yet manifest in our walk. Here is the due reward of the Lord’s blessing just a few verses later.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Jer 17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The blessed have their sins forgiven and not imputed
Those of the spiritual household of faith grow in maturity to know that our sins are forgiven and the Lord is no longer imputing them against us. Those sins are part of His good work that is, was, and will be perfecting us.
Rom 4:7 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Thus, the promises of the New Covenant are being fulfilled in our lives!
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
By our mistakes and sins, the Lord is humbling us, turning our hearts to Him and teaching us to forgive others and to extend those that do us wrong mercy rather than wrath. The Lord teaches us to be merciful by showing us just how much mercy we need.
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
He who loves much is forgiven much. Anytime we stray and treat others with wrath and condemnation, the Lord brings a trial to us putting us in need of His mercy. Carnal Pharisees fail to get this, trusting in their own righteousness until they learn what we have learned. We are blessed as our sins are forgiven as we sit at Christ’s feet. We shall believe the Lord.
Luk 7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Luk 7:48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
Pursuers of peace are the blessed of God
We learn by trial and error to become men of peace knowing the Lord is working all aspects in the lives of everyone else. When we pursue peace with all men and do not judge another man’s servant, Jesus Christ and the fruit of righteousness is growing within us.
Heb 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Being humbled and having our carnal reasoning (vengeance, an eye for eye mentality) burned away, we will reap peace the more we can sow it. With Christ leading, the Prince of Peace, we will be striving to live peaceably with all men and learn to stop contending with what the Lord is doing in others. The sons of God will be peacemakers and not engaged in fighting with the carnal and blind world that does not know the Lord.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
The Poor in Spirit are blessed, coming in the Lord’s name
We truly have become blessed men and women, set apart from the billions of others that walked before us on this earth. Through the trials of faith, the Lord is breaking our own spirit, having us to sell all and follow Him in full assurance of faith. As our own spirit is decreased, we become poor in spirit which makes us rich in the heavenly realm as Christ within us is strong. Such we become the blessed of the Lord and given the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
When Christ is leading us in all things, we are coming in the Lord’s name. All of us who previously rejected Christ, become the blessed sons of God now being led by the Spirit of God.
Mat 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
We are promised a most wonderful blessing, an unlimited one if we are able to give the entirety of our lives over to the Lord. This is the true tithe that comes with a gigantic promise of blessing.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Seeing ourselves in the Scriptures, in the hands of a living God
The revelation of Jesus Christ within us comes only when we are given to live out … i.e. keep those things written and said another way to fulfill the sayings of the prophecy of the Book. When the Lord comes into our lives and begins to work His work in us, the time is henceforth at hand and we are blessed indeed.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
David tells us the judgments of the Lord are more desirable than fine gold and sweeter than honey; being a rare blessing given to a chosen few.
Psa 19:9 …. the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
When we see ourselves living by every word, the Word has come alive (the Living Word), judgment has come to our house and we are the blessed of God. Thus, Christ in us, is exalted and we are filled with judgments that are teaching us righteousness.
Isa 33:5 The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.
Luk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Our Chastening are Blessings
Our chastening is a huge spiritual blessing we should be thankful for not one we should despise. In due time we shall see truly believe it.
Psa 94:12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
To those given faith, it proves the Lord loves you as a son.
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The trials of faith are how we are being transformed, exercise our spiritual senses, and grow into mature adults having the mind of Christ. There is no better blessing than this in the final analysis.
Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation [trials]: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Our beastly nature is tamed by the Lord’s chastening. This is how we learn to submit unto the Lord and are being taught obedience. Gaining dominion over sin, little by little, we are inheriting the earth and standing upon the sea that represents our flesh and its many temptations.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek (those submitted unto the Lord): for they shall inherit the earth.
Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
There is no other way for us to learn righteousness except by coming through the throes of judgment [Isa 26:3]. We are getting better at rejoicing in the Lord and seeing the good in all of our experiences.
Those attentive to the things of the Lord are the blessed
Our obedience pays off in more blessings and growth in our measure of faith. Like building a muscle, our faith once exercised will grow as we endure and overcome the trials the Lord puts us through. Watching and guarding our gates taking all things captive contrary to the Lord’s commands.
Pro 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Being watchful is a daily battle in which we rest from our works but always work the work of God which is our faith (John 6:29). When we are being sanctified, we see the Lord in us increase and we decrease and that is truly a blessing we seek.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are those that mourn who will be comforted
Our chastening involves much tribulation and will have us to mourn and lament. We suffer many losses in the flesh and the emotional pain we are appointed to experience is a necessary part of the Lord’s plan. Eventually, we mature to look behind ourselves and rejoice in those sufferings. Losing our old way of life is going to be uncomfortable and painful at times. Being weak in the flesh, we will mourn and lament for a season. Yet the promise of this blessing is that we are being comforted, and a great joy, the joy of the Lord will return.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Our temporary weeping will be replaced by great joy as the Lord’s blessings and judgments manifest in our life.
Psa 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Patience Is Required
None of us know the future or the timeline of the Lord to finish His work in us. We must strive daily to endure and overcome knowing it’s all up to Him. Nobody has arrived at their destination, we are only on the way. Those blessed of the Lord will know there is more work to be done in the kingdom of God and heed the admonishments of the Apostle Paul.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
We, like a farmer, do all we can to stand every day, striving to be perfect. Yet we are at the mercy of the Lord to bring the necessary rain to grow the spiritual crop He planted within us. We learn to be patient in waiting on the Lord.
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Even the sower Himself tells us it will take patience to bring home the crop.
Luk 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Our job Lord willing is to believe [Joh 6:29] that we are being saved. May we have the faith to see our trials as the blessings of the Lord and the patience to endure those trials unto the end. As the Lord’s people, we are the blessed ones!
Psa 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Pete & Ronel
peterjwilson56@gmail.com
