Let's bow our head for prayer. Dear Lord, Father
in heaven, thank you so much for this wonderful
day. Lord, I ask you to please be with us as
we think through these verses. Lord, we love
you. In Jesus' name, amen. Good morning and happy
Sabbath. My name is Julian Harrington. I am a
graduate from Southern. religious studies, and
I go to seminary at Andrews. I'm getting my MDiv.
What drew me to theology was when I was 10 years
old, I moved from Florida to Collegedale. And
my aunt was going to Southern at the time. And
she came to our house one day and She told us
that there was a final about watching a movie.
And in this movie, you get to analyze the philosophy
and see how that philosophy, where it came from,
like the Greeks and Egyptians and the Indians,
and how it's morphed into media. And I thought
that was so interesting For the first time, I
had a connection to my Christian beliefs in the
real world. And as a young person, I was able
to see the Great Controversy more as a Christian
operation rather than it is two different lifestyles.
That professor of that class, his name was Jud
Lake. He's amazing. Amazing. And I began to think
about Christian philosophy. And I started delving
more deeply into the Bible. And so the Christian
journey, the Beatitudes, is less than moral principles.
And it's more like a map for our Christian reality.
And that is my point. the Beatitudes today. So
I would like for us to think through these ideas
together. So, Matthew 5 .3, blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In the Old Testament, in Isaiah 66 .2, states,
he who was humble and contrite in spirit. Psalm
34 .18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed. in spirit. To be contrite
and to be crushed is something that I think we've
all experienced and we have to think about how
that relates to our relationship with Jesus.
We have to start there at being crushed. So Matthew
5, 4 Blessed are those who mourn for they shall
be comforted. And in 2 Corinthians 7, 10, it
says, Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads
to salvation. And so when we're mourning, we're
mourning because we have godly sorrow. When my
mom passed away a few months ago from cancer.
She was everything to me. I would spend late
nights talking with her about philosophy. When
I was young, when I started looking at taking
the controversy in the Bible seriously, she was
there to guide me through the different philosophies.
And she would stay up until 2, 3 in the morning
just to wake up at 5 to go to work. I mean, she
was dedicated. When she passed away, I was completely
crushed, completely crushed. And when I mourned
for her, I was comforted. That's good. That's
a good thing. However, this is talking more about
godly sorrow. And I love that the Lord had...
given me and given everybody the ability to mourn
and feel better afterwards. That's true. That's
a truth. We should mourn. However, godly sorrow
is when we're so crushed that we have sinned,
that we're begging, like Mary Magdalene, to be
at his feet and pour incense on his feet. That
is to be crushed, to be devastated. that we have
sinned and have fallen short. I want to know
what that feels like more and more. Now, my mom
was a rare case when it came to cancer. Some
people take chemotherapy very well, and I'm happy
for those people, and I pray for those people.
And also, I would kindly advise to implement
some... alternative therapies alongside the chemotherapy
as fast as possible. It works. It works. Now,
Matthew 5 .5 is, Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. What does inheriting
the earth mean? Did somebody want to answer?
He said what? Yes. Yes. Any other answers? The
new earth. Yes. So we will reign for a thousand
years and we'll also be in the new earth. those
who love and keep his commandments. It says here,
seek righteousness and seek humility. The meek
shall inherit the land. The humble and meek path
inherit the earth. So we also have to recognize
that while we're here, We're to use our talents
and abilities for God's glory and not think about
where it takes us, but think about what we're
doing for God's kingdom. What are we doing to
accomplish God's kingdom, his reign? And with
that will come so many blessings. It's like a
promise. If we obey and keep his commandments,
he will also be faithful to us to multiply what
our heart desires. Now, what our heart desires
will be changed by keeping his commandments.
Sometimes this is difficult because our natural
instinct is to say, well, what I desire is not
aligned with what I think God wants, so we stop
short. I don't want to accomplish anything. You
see what I'm saying? But if we start first with
changing our heart, to match Christ's character,
we will accomplish so many wonders for his kingdom
and enjoy the life we have here and then experience
infinity with Jesus in the new earth in the thousand
years. That will be amazing. That will be so
amazing. And here's a picture of the pearl, the
pearl of great price, that Jesus is that pearl.
We want that pearl. We're going into the field
to search for that pearl because we want it desperately.
We'll give up anything we have for him. That's
desperate. And when the new Jerusalem comes,
there'll be 12 pearls, even more pearls. Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled. Matthew 5 and 6. And
here it says, seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness. And the rest says, and all these
things will be added unto you. These are new
things. Jesus is doing a new thing. And so the
wonder is exciting of what he has in store when
we follow his will. Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy. I think that Jesus
is the king of mercy. The king of mercy. It's
amazing. Does anybody know what this artifact
is? I'm sorry? Exactly. Thank you. Yes. And so
what do we know of the contents of the Ark of
the Covenant? Ten Commandments. Rod of Aaron.
Manna. Yes. And you mentioned this. What is the
lid, the golden lid, that the high priest would
sprinkle the offering, the blood of the offering
on? Every year. The mercy seat. So Jesus has
already established his position. And he makes
this sacrifice so that we can obtain mercy and
go to him in our time of need. And we will get
mercy. It's true. Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God. Psalm 24, 3 -4. Who may
ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who has clean
hands and a pure heart? Now, there's a guy, I
won't mention his name, that wants to ascend
the mountain of the Lord. We don't like him very
much, right? But this is the only way. He who
has clean hands and a pure heart, this is the
only way. And it's a process, day by day. It's
a process. And we can't take this mercy for granted.
It's not as if, well, I'm just going to go sin
again just to go back to the throne of grace
and obtain mercy. We can dine with him, commune
with him. Every day. And keep his commandments.
That's a promise. Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God.
And so, we're about to transition into a heavier
subject, but this is kind of an introduction.
To be a peacemaker is, in a way, to be a firefighter,
a law enforcement officer. They have a civic
duty to uphold peace and justice, and that's
good. And we expect that from these people. But
the peacemaker is the one who can remain patient
and remain peaceful. in times of strife, when
times are good and someone crashes the party,
that is not being a peacemaker. But when your
family is in trouble, that person needs your
help. Man, my family member that's really going
through it, how do I keep them connected? That's
so important. It's going to help a lot more than
just psychology. That can help the healing process
of anything. Blessed are those who are persecuted
for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Psalm 73, 26. My flesh and my heart
may fail, but God is my strength of my heart
and my portion forever. 2 Timothy. In fact, everyone
who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted. Blessed are you when they
revile and persecute you and say all kinds of
evil against you falsely for my sake. But rejoice
and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward
in heaven. for they persecuted the prophets who
were before you. Are we going to get persecuted?
Yes. But is Jesus still active? Yes, most definitely.
He has an amazing team. At the close of probation,
the 24 elders, the four living creatures, and
God the Father are active. I would encourage
you to look into this because this will give
you a little bit of peace of mind and confidence
that what we will go through will be less painful
and more rewarding than what the wicked will
have to endure. Jeremiah 20, 11, but the Lord
is with me like a mighty warrior. Romans 12 .12,
be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and
faithful in prayer. And it says here, this is
in John chapter 15, before Jesus gives his final
prayers to God and for the disciples, and before
he gets turned in, in John 18. He says, I no
longer call you servants because a servant does
not know his master's business. Instead, I have
called you friends. For everything that I learned
from my father, I have made known to you. The
whole thing is in the Old Testament. The great
controversy, the plan of salvation, it's embedded
within scripture. It's been made plain for us
to see. And then when Jesus lives his life, We
see he's just following the plan. It's amazing.
It's amazing. Who can do this? Who can do this?
No one can do this except Jesus. It's fascinating.
It's incredible. And lo, I am with you always,
even until the end of the age. What a friend.
He would do that for me? And so, We are to be
that in times of crisis for others, knowing that
we're reflecting Jesus that has the power to
save, to heal, but we have to act quickly and
stay steady. We can do it. If you haven't given
your life to Jesus, please do so today. Let's
bow our head in prayer. Dear Lord, Father in
heaven, thank you so much. Thank you so much
for our friends. Thank you for being our friend.
Lord, we want to get closer to you and know more
about your character, Lord. We want to be involved
in the Christian journey. We love you. And we
pray for those who are in turmoil. And we ask
that your mightiest angels be with their families
to protect them. Give them the Holy Spirit of
peace and comfort and give them the wisdom to
know what to do. We love you, Lord. In Jesus'
holy name, amen.