We March to the Beat of a Different Drum –
The End of the Beatitudes is the Just the Beginning
Please memorize these 4 verses:
Matthew 5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.
Matthew 5:10-12 – Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
What is the biggest price you have ever paid for following Christ and standing for Him or His Word?
- Missed a promotion?
- Lost a job?
- Lost a friend?
- Ridicule?
- Exclusion from a group?
- Had to change to another church?
What have you gained by following Christ and standing up for His name?
- Trust from others?
- Respected by others?
- A best friend?
- A new friend?
- A Church family?
- Knowledge that you are loved and accepted by God Himself?
- A home with love and peace?
- A marriage worth duplicating?
What happens in this world to those who stand up for Jesus and refuse to compromise morally, or ethically?
- Some are ignored
- Some are rewarded
- Some are persecuted
- Some receive ridicule
- Some save others from taking a wrong path
Jesus did, in fact, say to His disciples that in “this world you will suffer persecution” but to be of good cheer because “I (Jesus) have overcome the world”. John 16:33
But He also promised that “in due season we shall reap if we do not faint”. Galatians 6:9
- Think of ways you’ve been tempted to quit serving Jesus but didn’t.
- What part have others played in the success of your life thus far?
- What influence have others had on you that helped you?
- What influence have you had on others that helped them keep going forward?
My desire for you and for myself is that we …
- …recognize that we are 100% in need of God’s love and provision 100% of the time and live out the kingdom of God on earth
- …mourn and receive from God and others the comfort and forgiveness God offers to let us know we are not alone or beyond hope
- …trust God so fully that we live confidently on the promises He made knowing we will inherit all He has planned for us on earth and in heaven
- …find full satisfaction knowing that we are forgiven in Christ and have received right standing with God provided by grace through faith not by works of righteousness that we have done
- …that we show mercy and forgiveness to all who’ve hurt or disappointed us by not loving us as we’d hoped and that, by being merciful, we’d then receive even more mercy from God
- …would see God more clearly from a pure heart that is being emptied of the poisoned emotions and stain of sin we’d accumulated over the years
- …we would live as peacemakers in our world beginning at home recognizing that we have an identity as a Christ-follower that never can change and an important role to help bring factions to peaceful resolution …starting at home
- …we would never quit loving and serving God no matter what the opposition from the world, the flesh, or the devil and that we’d shine as light and live as salt preserving God’s love in life …starting at home
Remember your value to God – You are salt and light! He has chosen to redeem the world through Jesus Christ and we play a major role being salt and light!
Matthew 5:11-15
You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its saltiness how will it be made salty again. It is good for nothing but to be cast our and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bowl. They put the lamp on lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. (Salt and Light)