Preparing to Fast (Part IV – Word of God)

We are now going to talk about the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great: for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To admit that you are poor is very important. In my country the poor are abused. If you call someone poor they might take you to court. People don’t like to be humiliated. But to admit that we are poor is very important.

Why? The poor need something. The rich are puffed up with pride and think they have everything. Every time you pray tell God you are poor and that you need His help because the more you ask for help the more the doors of heaven will be opened. If you do not ask God you will never receive. To be a member of God’s kingdom you must acknowledge that you are spiritually poor and that the only source of your provision comes from God.

If you are a Christian and you don’t admit you are poor, be sure that you will never enter the kingdom of God. This is high-level study for spiritually mature people. People think that reading the Bible will get them into heaven but to enter the kingdom of God we must admit that we are poor. This is very important. As you know you can enter the kingdom of God on earth because a lot of people say, “I belong to this kingdom and everything that is in this kingdom belongs to me”.


Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. How many times have you been sad in your life? Because we are gathered together to pray it is now time to feel a sadness in us for the souls whom we will pray for. When you want to pray for someone wear the shoes of that person and say, if I was Peter what would he be feeling? Meditate hard about the situation or think deeply about it, “If this happened to me what would be the consequences and where could I find a solution?” But because you are poor you can’t. So go to God who is rich. Tell the Lord, “As You can help me, also help my brother and come into his life so that he will find a solution both spiritually and physically. God will answer with a comfort.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. The reward for this is to inherit the Promised Land. Who can tell me what gentle (NASB) or meekness (KJ) means? Is Shari meek? Is Odon meek? Is Michelle meek? Is Sylvie meek? God’s meekness is not like mans meekness because mans meekness is based upon the appearance. If you see someone who has been created naturally meek you will think he is meek.

God’s meekness depends upon the spirit. Was Jesus meek? Physically people judged Jesus a lot. I remember when Jesus cast people out of the temple, turned over tables and rebuked them harshly. When someone asked Jesus a question He would answer with an arrow and everybody felt it stab his or her hearts. Was Jesus meek?

The Bible dictionary says, “meekness is an attitude of humility towards God and gentleness towards men, springing from the recognition that God is in control. Although weakness and meekness may look similar they are not the same, weakness is due to negative circumstances such as lack of strength or lack of courage, but meekness is due to a person’s conscious choice that is strength and courage under control coupled with kindness”. I do not agree with the definition 100%.

To be meek is to be controlled by God. All our acts must please God and not man. It is to be aware of what we are doing and to know that God is with us and that what we are doing pleases Him. This is what meekness is. If the Bible says to be meek, it means we should be at the level where God can lead us in everything so that God’s glory can be seen in our lives. People can say that this person doesn’t respect us, but if you respect God it’s better. It means that when you do something and you want people to discover that you are meek, you might risk being a hypocrite because you want to please people and not God.

This is one of the gifts Satan uses. Satan has this gift. Judging someone by his or her appearance is good for example; If Peter dresses nice does it mean he is meek? Does the way Odon speak determine if he is meek or not? The way Michelle smiles is she meek? Who told you that Michelle is meek? Who told you that Odon is meek? Only God can know this. You will only know if this person is meek if their lives live according to the Word. This is why we continue to pray for God’s church today, this is why we keep praying for Christians because the appearance can say they are meek but spiritually they are not. We need spiritual meekness.

I know a man whose appearance looked meek but he was one of the greatest killers in the world. So appearance shouldn’t influence you to judge. If you are a child of God do not look at the appearance, this is a teaching linked to discernment. Do not look at the appearance even if someone speaks like an angel. If someone is mild as oxygen do not look at that. A French proverb we have says that, “the clothes you wear don’t make you a monk”. When Peter wears his uniform to a Catholic church everybody will stand on his arrival, even if they don’t know who Peter is. His uniform will give him that authority and people will respect him. This is a spiritual error.

I served 1 year in the Catholic Church as a priest. As we entered the church the bell would ring and everybody stood up. Then they waited patiently to see what the priest would say. They don’t care where the priest came from and they don’t care who he was, but because of his robe I would just follow his every move. This is very wrong. When we accept physical appearance we can be easily mistaken. I can say Michael is meek but who proved he is meek? Live with him and pray for him. Ask your God “is the meekness I see on the outside really in the inside?” God will say yes or no. This is where you must have discernment to know wether or not Michael is meek.

Pray for people’s spiritual meekness so that God may give it to them. The Bible says that the meek will inherit the Promised Land. This will be the land that God has put us in. It is not the Promise Land Odon gives but what God gives. God has promised something for our little group, so pray for everybody to meek so they can benefit with what God has promised.