For anyone who may be interested my book "Every Nation Under Heaven" is now available.

 Have you ever wondered how you fit into God's great plan for the ages?

Every Nation Under Heaven explains the overarching plan of God and His relationship to the nations and kingdoms of this world. Ultimately, EVERY believer has a roll to play in God's great plan of redemption. This book will help you understand your place in that plan, and if you are a church teacher in search of lesson material, this will make a great Discipleship Class or Sunday School Class teaching series.

For more information you can visit my website https://tonywthomas.com/ or purchase from the publisher at Pathway Bookstore.

Be blessed,

Tony Thomas

LESSON, Radical Teachings of Jesus Lesson #8: Blessed are the Persecuted

In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us a list of personal “attitudes” that will cause us to be “blessed” or “happy”. These are directly counter the usual humanistic way of thinking.

Radical Concept #8

"Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." [Matthew 5:10 KJV]

To be “righteous” means to be in a “condition acceptable to God.” In a broad sense, this means that a person is in a state of being as they ought to be.¹ With this statement, Jesus is countering our innate desire to be accepted and rewarded for being good. He is pronouncing us “blessed” when we are rejected by the World system because we align ourselves with him.

1. Is it our natural inclination to seek the approval of other people?

2. How does this manifest itself in our lives? Is there such a thing as “adult peer presser?
   1. With the people we know…
   2. With the people we don’t know…

3. How does the Bible address the issue of “conforming” to this world? See Romans 12:1-3

4. What are some real life ways in which we should “dare to be Godly”? What are the real life consequences?

5. If I am popular/cool/hip with the prevailing culture around me, should I be concerned? Is there a difference between being accepted and being respected? See Luke 6:26.

6. When Jesus refers to “false prophets” to whom is he referring? [as an example see 1 Kings 22].

7. Make a list of the Godly prophets who were well received and well compensated for their ministry.

8. True/False. Jesus was only followed by a few fishermen and the ignorant masses. [see John 12:42-43, Luke 8:1-3, Matthew 8:8]

9. Is it possible to believe in Jesus without confessing him? Can we be saved if we refuse to confess him as Savior?

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." [Matthew 10:32-33 KJV]

"… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."" [Romans 10:9-11 ESV]

To continue to the next lesson, click HERE.

1 Vine’s Expository Dictionary referenced at http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1343&t=KJV

Radical Teachings of Jesus Christ #1: "Blessed are the poor in spirit".

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF LESSONS ON THE BEATITUDES FOUND IN MATTHEW CHAPTER 5.

To his listeners, the Sermon on the Mount must have seemed to turn the world upside down!

In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us a list of personal “attitudes” that will cause us to be “blessed” or “happy”. These are directly counter the usual humanistic way of thinking. 

Radical Concept #1
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 5:3 KJV]

• Is Jesus making a statement in this verse that endorses physical poverty?

IMPORTANT TRUTH: Despite the pervasive popularity of the “prosperity gospel” personal wealth or lack thereof is NOT an indicator or either God’s approval or disapproval in your life.

…[the Father] gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. [Mat 5:45b NLT]

• What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?

HINT: How would you describe someone who is “poor in dollars” or “rich in dollars”?

• Identify the correct statements:

God needs everything I am and have… 
God needs nothing I am and have…
God wants everything I am and have…
God wants nothing I am and have…

• Identify the correct statement:

God will never ask us to do anything we cannot do…
God will never ask us to do anything we can do…

Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, [2Ti 1:9 KJV]

• Why does a spiritual balance of “zero” qualify as blessed?

HINT: We cannot be filled with the "kingdom" until we are first emptied of "self".

Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. [1Co 6:19-20 NLT]

• We will never be "poor in spirit" until we see God in his greatness.

Biblical examples:

Job: Job considers himself righteous until he has an encounter with God. 

"My righteousness I hold fast." (27:6)"I have heard of thee, but now I have seen thee, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." (42:5,6)

Isaiah: Isaiah is able to identify sin in others, then when he sees the Lord, he is able to identify it in himself.

Woe unto the wicked! [it shall be] ill [with him]: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. [Isa 3:11 KJV]Woe unto them that join house to house, [that] lay field to field, till [there be] no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! [Isa 5:8 KJV]Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, [that] they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, [till] wine inflame them! [Isa 5:11 KJV]Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: [Isa 5:18 KJV]Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! [Isa 5:20 KJV]Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! [Isa 5:21 KJV]Woe unto [them that are] mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: [Isa 5:22 KJV]Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. [Isa 6:5 KJV]

Peter: Peter recognizing the superiority of Jesus is able to see his own inferiority.

"And when Peter saw that he fell at Jesus knees and said, Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man." Luke 5:8

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