Sunday Morning in the Word Sunday May 28, 2017

Coming to Grace Sunday Mornings (May 28th, June 4th, 11th) DISCIPLING 101 Coming to Grace Sunday Mornings (May 28th, June 4th, 11th)

Discipling is simply ... Helping others to follow Jesus! Today - The One Prerequisite for Discipling Another Next Sunday - The Three-Fold Foundational Process of Discipling June 11th - Three Powerful God-given Resources for Discipling Discipling is simply ... Helping others to follow Jesus!

Matthew 5:1-12 The One Prerequisite for Discipling Another You have to BE one! BUT something comes before the doing, and that is BEING! Matthew 5:1-12

We disciple others to disciple others to disciple others! The One Prerequisite for Discipling Another (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) Matthew 5:1-2 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: We disciple others to disciple others to disciple others!

The One Prerequisite for Discipling Another (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) Mathew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We are blessed if we have a certain character, and possessing this certain character will lead to a specific reward.

The One Prerequisite for Discipling Another (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) BEFORE WE CAN GO AND DO, WE MUST BE . . .

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12)  We must BE “poor in spirit.” Mathew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

A person who is truly poor in spirit is the person who "has a deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin which he brought with him from his mother's womb, which overspreads his whole soul, and totally corrupts every power and faculty thereof." John Wesley

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12)  We must BE “poor in spirit.” Isaiah 64:6a We have all become like one who is unclean,     and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must BE “mourning” Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“For Christians, mourning over sin is essential to spiritual health “For Christians, mourning over sin is essential to spiritual health. The verb used here is the most intensive of the nine verbs employed in the New Testament for mourning, and it is continuous. Godly believers, therefore, perpetually mourn, and thus perpetually repent of their sins.” (R. Kent Hughes)

1st of his 95 Theses (October 31, 1517) nailed to door of Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Martin Luther

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12)  We must BE “poor in spirit.” We must BE “mourning” Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must BE “meek.” Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Desmond Doss

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, pastor, London’s Westminster Chapel "The person who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do." Martyn Lloyd-Jones, pastor, London’s Westminster Chapel

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must BE “meek.” Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must BE “hungering and thirsting for righteousness.” Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must BE “hungering and thirsting for righteousness.” Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must be “merciful.” Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “to give help to the wretched, to relieve the miserable."

*Read the parable of the unmerciful servant! We who have received such great mercy from God must in turn give it to others!* *Read the parable of the unmerciful servant! (Matthew 18:21-35)

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must be “merciful.” Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “to give help to the wretched, to relieve the miserable."

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must be “pure in heart.” Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

(Ivan Turgenev, 19th century Russian novelist) James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. “I do not know what the heart of a bad man is like. But I do know what the heart of a good man is like. And it is terrible.” (Ivan Turgenev, 19th century Russian novelist)

Psalm 86:11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And as God purifies our hearts, we will begin to see him more and more clearly!

The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must be “peacemakers.” Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“The Lessons of History” (Will and Ariel Durant – 1968) "War is one of the constants of history, and has not diminished with civilization and democracy. In the last 3,421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war.“ “The Lessons of History” (Will and Ariel Durant – 1968)

Are YOU going to be a troublemaker or a peacemaker? The Character We Must Possess! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) We must be “peacemakers.” Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Are YOU going to be a troublemaker or a peacemaker?

The only prerequisite to helping another person follow Jesus is YOU yourself must be following Jesus! Are YOU?

Do these describe the attitudes of my heart? Am I poor in spirit? Am I mourning my sin? Am I meek? Am I hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Am I merciful? Am I pure in heart? Am I a peacemaker?

The God-given rewards of these heart attitudes? The kingdom of heaven! God’s comfort! Inheritance of the earth! Soul satisfaction! Mercy! A clearer vision of God! Called sons of God!

(The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) The Price We Must Pay! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) The Price We Must Pay! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

(The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) The Price We Must Pay! (The Beatitudes - Matthew 5:1-12) John 15:18-20 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Take out your Bibles this week, and pray through these beatitudes! If you want to help another person to follow Jesus, then you need to look within! You need to examine your heart! And as you do, ask God to grow these “beautiful attitudes” in your heart until they spill out into your life! Take out your Bibles this week, and pray through these beatitudes!