What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?

[Music] hashtag blessed it's a social media tag for when someone feels blessed and who has or is getting everything they dreamed of getting can range from getting a new girlfriend a new job a pay raise finding a 10 bill on the sidewalk or getting surprisingly good news but what does it mean to truly be blessed according to scripture that's a very different discussion one initiated by a discerning listener to the podcast named jordan he writes this hello pastor john of late i have been having discussions with my friends around what it means to be blessed the term blessed is thrown around in our culture today and it's all over our bibles too to me it seems like the way god uses blessed or blessings in the bible is very different from how it's used now i see the term blessed associated with material possessions or family or health these can be all good things but i think you could also argue that if these blessings lead us further away from god they are not true blessings at all on the other hand jesus says quote blessed are the poor in spirit matthew 5 3 and he said blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake matthew 5 10 and he said blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account matthew 5 11. rarely if ever do i see people posting about how blessed they are as poor in spirit or persecuted like we read about in the beatitudes with that in mind what is a biblical definition of what it means to be truly blessed jordan puts his finger on the nub of the issue i think by referring to the beatitudes in matthew 5 and i'm going to circle back and probably end there and affirm what he sees and show why it is such a a great answer to his own question but first let me lay down a principle that has helped me grasp why there is such a preponderance of earthly blessings promised in the old testament like the inheritance of land psalm 37 22 deliverance from our enemies psalm 41 1 fruitfulness in our families and our fields genesis 17 20 48 4 while in the new testament there are very few earthly blessings promised but rather afflictions are promised with the material physical blessings largely postponed until the resurrection so here's the principle in god's wisdom the jewish religion of the old testament was largely a common sea religion israel was the showcase of god's blessings among the nations so for example in 1st kings 10 it says when the queen of sheba heard the fame of solomon concerning the name of the lord she came to test him with hard questions and when the queen of sheba had seen all the wisdom of solomon the house that he built the food of his table the seating of his officials the attendants of his servants and their clothing and his cop bearers and his burnt offerings that he offered the house of the lord there was no more breath in her i i call that the showcasing of the blessing of god on the people of god in the old testament there's nothing like that in the new testament in god's wisdom the church of jesus christ is not an ethnic or geographical or political or national entity it cuts across all ethnicities all geographies all politics nationalities there is no geographic center for christianity there's no great temple like edifice in christianity there are no places to do pilgrimages in christianity there are no priests or saints through whom we have to go to god but only jesus christ and instead of telling the world to come to us come see how i bless my people god never says that he says go go to the world and if it costs you your life lay it down in fact he says very plainly whoever would be my disciple must renounce everything that he has luke 14 33 put it at the disposal of me and my mission that's the kind of radical life we're called to live in the new testament so so there's the principle and the failure to recognize this distinction between god's plan for israel in the old testament and god's plan for the church in the new testament has caused a lot of people to put way too much emphasis on earthly blessings today and i think one of the most illuminating texts about how we are blessed as christians which we are i would say infinitely best is first corinthians 3 21-23 it goes like this so let no one boast in men for all things are yours let that sink in oh glory all things are yours whether paul or apollos or cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all are yours and you are christ's and christ is god's what a verse it is to belong to christ is to belong to god as our father and to be heirs of all that god owns that is everything paul says the world is yours all things are yours jesus said blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the world you cannot be richer than a christian is rich all the i'll put all the billionaires together i should have taken the time to find out their names you you could name them but put all the billionaires in a sack right and they are poppers i mean poverty-stricken paupers compared to the lowliest christian but notice that in the list of things that belong to us is death that's in the list all things are yours whether paul or apollos or cephas or the world or life or death death is yours this means that you do not get all your blessings in this life but that death itself belongs to you as a gift as a doorway to infinite eternal immeasurable blessing death becomes your servant because of christ's triumph over death the apostle john heard a voice from heaven saying blessed are the dead who die in the lord revelation 14 13. why is that paul answers in ephesians 1 3 god has blessed us in christ with every blessing that heaven can conceive for the eternal happiness of god's people will be ours but jesus taught us explicitly not to expect them now for example in luke 14 13 he said when you give a feast invite the poor the crippled the lame the blind and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you i love jesus logic you will be blessed because they cannot repay you for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just that's the orientation of jesus christ the king that's the new testament pattern sacrificial generosity and service now spectacular blessing later at the resurrection or here's the way james puts it blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which god has promised to those who love him james 1 12. first the trial then the blessing the crown so let's circle back now to jordan's reference to the beatitudes i think the beatitudes taken together provide a beautiful summary of the blessings promised to the followers of christ six immeasurable blessings are sandwiched between the summary promise yours is the kingdom of heaven verse three verse ten yours is the kingdom of heaven so these six blessings summarize what it means to live forever under the kingdom the heavenly rule of god number one we will see god verse eight they shall see god the pure shall see god number two we will be shown mercy they shall receive mercy verse seven number three we will be part of god's family verse nine they shall be called the sons of god number four we will experience god's comfort verse four they shall be comforted number five we will be co-owners of the whole world verse five they shall inherit the earth number six we will be satisfied with personal and universal righteousness verse six blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied so in summary the presence of god seen and enjoyed in the face of christ covering us with mercy because of all our sins calling us his children comforting us for all pain and loss in this world bequeathing to us the universe for a familiar homeland and everything set right in our souls and in the social order of the new world this is our great reward this is what it means to be truly blessed wonderful eternal perspective that encompasses the coming new creation thank you pastor john and thanks for joining us today you can ask a question of your own like the great question today or search our growing archive or subscribe to the podcast you can do all that at desiringgod.org forward slash ask pastor john how do we discern false teachers it's a hot topic in the inbox it's always been a hot topic in our inbox and it's up next time i'm your host tony reinke we'll see you back here on monday you

Channel: Desiring God

Views: 14,442

Rating: 4.9529409 out of 5

Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, Ask Pastor John, APJ, Meaning, Mean, Blessed, Money, Finance, Wealth, Prosperity, Material, #blessed, dream, job, pay, Posessions, Health, Persecuted, Righteousness, Matthew 5:3, Poor in Spirit, Matthew 5:10, Matthew 5:11, Beatitudes

Id: D1Ux-Ion8jg

Length: 11min 47sec (707 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 10 2021