Ken Blue Ministries

”Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6.

These beatitudes comprise some of the greatest words ever penned. They, along with the Lord’s Prayer, have been a source of inspiration to millions, and continue to bless the hearts of Gods children. However, few pause to consider for whom they are intended, and the prophetical message contained in each beatitude. In these studies we have attempted to be true their original meaning as spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ.

This beatitude is a promise given to a specific group that hunger and thirst after righteousness.

“27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Matthew 19:27-29.

The above text speaks of a future time when Jesus will rule as King in Jerusalem. Peter and the others had given up everything to follow the Lord. Of course, he believed the Kingdom would be established immediately. They believed Jesus was their Messiah, and desired His Kingdom of righteousness. The Lord assures them that they would receive a hundredfold for their sacrifice. Their hunger and thirst for righteousness would be rewarded.

The following text teaches us the same truth. A Jewish remnant will “travail” for their king and His righteous Kingdom during the Tribulation. Assurance is given that such would be filled. The hunger and thirst for a righteous government will become a reality.

“Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. ⁶  A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies. ⁷  Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. ⁸  Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. ⁹  Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. ¹⁰  Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: ¹¹  That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.” Isaiah 66:5-11.

The above words, “travailed, pain, suck and be satisfied,” describe the consolation of those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.”

Within the Lord’s Prayer, we find these words; “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10. This will be their prayer during the Tribulation. These, hunger and thirst for God’s righteous Kingdom from Heaven. They will be heard, and filled.

“In your patience possess ye your souls.” Luke 21:19. Once more, the context is the Tribulation. Assurance is given in verse 27 that the Lord will return and rule. While they hunger and thirst for the kingdom, where righteousness will reign, they are encouraged to be patient and “possess” their souls. Thus, those who hunger and thirst after righteous, and endure to the end of the Tribulation, will witness the establishment of a righteous kingdom, and will be filled.

Ken Blue

Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.

kenblueministries.com

By Ken Blue

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew” 5:5.

The book of Matthew was written to demonstrate to Israel that Jesus Christ was their Messiah. This is attested to from the prophecies fulfilled, the voice of the father, and His resurrection. The Book describes that the King was present, thus the Kingdom of Heaven was theirs if they would repent and receive Him as Messiah, and King. There is nothing in the book about the church, which is His Body, and was a mystery.

We are dealing with the beatitudes, or the blessings awaiting the Jewish remnant whose character and actions manifest these. Sadly, because many fail to rightly divide the Scriptures, they spiritualize the sermon in an attempt to force it to fit the present day church.

The text addresses the meek, and their inheritance. One of the problems, when interpreting this passage, is our preconceived misunderstanding of the word “meek.” The best way to understand the meaning of the word in the context, is to allow Scripture to clarify what it is not.

We read in Scripture that Moses was the meekest man on the earth. “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)” Numbers 12:3. A review of the life of Moses, will correct the concept that most have of the word. I will list these things, without adding the reference.

• Moses killed an Egyptian who was mistreating a Jewish slave
• Moses confronted Pharaoh, and brought the plagues on Egypt, the last, killing all the first born of Egypt.
• Moses raised the rod and the sea closed on the whole Egyptian army.
• Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and crushed the golden calf to power, put it in the water, and forced them to drink it.
• Moses had the rebels within the congregation killed.
• Moses confronted Korah and his followers, and destroyed them by having the earth open and swallow them.
• Moses was willing to stand up against the whole nation of Israel and rebuke them. We witness this illustration when Jesus made a whip and cleansed the temple. Again, all the above go against the common idea of the meaning of meekness.

I am sure there is more we could find, but I believe these will suffice. Meekness is not an attitude of refusing to confront, or failing to deal with responsibilities. Vines Dictionary says, “…In Gal. 5:23 it is associated with enkrateia, “self-control. “Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words. It is having self under the control to the will of God.  I believe this is alluded to in Matthew 16:26. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” You will notice that the context is that of missing the Kingdom of Heaven. It is these, whose will is under submission to God, who enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The inheritance is the “earth.” Again, the world is not the subject here, but the land promised to Abraham and his earthly seed. “¹⁸ In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: ¹⁹ The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ²⁰ And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, ²¹ And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” Genesis 15:18-21.  This is the earth the meek of Israel will inherit at the Second Advent of their Messiah. “²¹ For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. ²² But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.” Proverbs 2:21-22.

Ken Blue

Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.

kenblueministries.com

BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN… #2

 “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4.

In our last article about the Sermon on the Mount, we stressed the need to understand that the church of this dispensation is not the subject or the intent of the sermon. All is about Israel, a remnant, the Tribulation, and the Kingdom of Heaven. We also underscored the importance of distinguishing between the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, and the Church. Without right division, this is impossible. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

This Beatitude deals with those who mourn. This is not speaking of the mourning that is appointed to all of us. “²² For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ²³  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:22-23.

The mourning, in this context, speaks to a specific remnant who will mourn because of their previous rejection of their Messiah, and their personal sins.  “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.” Jeremiah 31:13 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn”. Zechariah 12:10.

Until a Christian is able, and willing to understand the purpose of the book of Matthew, he will never understand the content within. One must understand the structure of the book, then the scope will become evident. Right division is the key.

Again, there is not one word in the sermon that is doctrinally directed to the Body of Christ, the Church. Those Jews who mourn over their sins of rejecting their Messiah, will find great comfort when He returns to them. They will be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ken Blue

Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.

kenblueministries.com

By Ken Blue

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”, Colossians 1:13.

“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5.

Two worlds exist in one. They are like our moon; with one side always dark, and the other always light. We get a hint of this when God called “…the light Day, and the darkness he called Night…” Genesis 1:5. That dark side has a Prince who rules over all within his kingdom of darkness. Throughout Scripture we see this comparison. Righteousness is equated with light, and unrighteousness is equated with darkness.

It is obvious also that these two are contrasted as “understanding” and “ignorance.” Notice the usage in Ephesians 4:18.  “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart…” The “understanding” is “darkened” through “ignorance,” and “blindness.”

Paul accused his nation of the malady which contributed to their lack of salvation. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. ² For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” Romans 10:1-3. Two key words describe the source of their problem; they lacked “knowledge” and they were “ignorant.” God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6.

There are two great hymns that shed more light on the subject. One is, Amazing Grace. The words are, “…I once was blind, but now I see.” The other is, At the Cross. “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light…”

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6.

It is nothing short of a miracle. We come into life ignorant, blind, and lost. We are in a world of darkness. We live on the dark side of the moon. But God, who called the light out of darkness, has shined in our heart and dispelled the ignorance, the blindness, and the darkness, in which we lived. Not only has He delivered us out of darkness, He had translated us into His marvelous light! It is called “the kingdom of His dear Son.”  He has moved us from darkness to light.

We discover that people are not lost because of personal sin, but because of the ignorance, blindness, and unbelief in their heart. Faith in God’s Word is the switch that “turns on the light.” If you will “believe” Him, He will call you out of a world of darkness to light! These two worlds exist. Are you still in darkness?

Ken Blue

Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.

kenblueministries.com