This morning we start worship with:
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
The first word of this message to us is past tense about a future event.
At the college I attended, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, we were famous for two things: regularly beating MIT in academic competitions and for having a good hockey team. To get the coveted season tickets students would line up for weeks in advance. If they were successful, then they were “blessed”. They were able to dress up in red and cheer the team on week after week.
Many of the beatitudes work this way Matthew 5:4-9. We are blessed because of what will happen. In God’s sovereignty He controls both the cause and that wonderful effect. And we worship today because of these “true words of God”.
Two beatitudes have an immediate present tense blessing. They are the first and the last.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
How are they immediate? We have left one kingdom and entered another. This too is a cause for worship.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son
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