Lesson 2
As I said last week the healing processes that are explored in Grace and Truth in your Story are biblical. We have covered one of these principle in the parable of the fig tree. Today we are going to begin to explore the Beatitudes as well as Grace and Truth’s 7 steps.
Sometimes I think we feel so overwhelmed when we look at our entire story and start to wonder how on earth is God going to use it all. I mean how does God use sexual abuse, unexpected deaths, broken relationships and even church hurt to make a person stronger? Before we look at what God is asking of us in these instructions let’s meditate on these encouraging words.
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:1-5 NLT
God tells us that our pain and trials are going to make us stronger, more like Christ and I will enjoy sharing in His peace and joy.
1. What if any “good” has come from a hurt or painful event in your life?
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He gives us even more good news in Peter 1:3-5 “3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires .”
Or to paraphrase. God has given us everything we need to live like we were designed. By coming to know him… He has given us a great promise…that we are able to share in his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption.
Let’s hold onto that hope today as we study what Jesus is asking us to do in the Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes
The Sermon was given to the disciples as well as the Masses during Jesus 2nd year of ministry. It is found in the book of Matthew, whose audience appears to be jewish christians not yet fully identifying with the nature and character of Jesus. Instead they are living within the Jewish community following the law and tradition.
In the article “Journeying Through the Beatitudes: A Servant’s Character in Christ.
“Matthew addressed Jewish Christians from their perspective in his gospel. He wrote it during a time of great conflict over their identity after the second temple destruction. Even though they accepted Jesus as the Messiah, they still lived within the Jewish community and followed its traditions while different from Israel. The gospel author sought to reframe their new identity within the Christ community aligned to the nature and character of Jesus, King of Israel.”
The Ten Commandments, the law given to Moses on a mountain in the Old Testament Book of Exodus, presents a series of "Thou shalt not" phrases, or evils one must avoid in daily life on earth or be judged. In contrast, the message of Jesus in the Sermon on the mount is one of humility, charity, and brotherly love. He teaches transformation of the inner person not just the outward behavior. Jesus presents the Beatitudes in a positive sense, virtues in life which will ultimately lead to the reward of joy.
In the New Testament love becomes the motivation for the Christian instead of fear or punishment.
2. Do you feel more driven by your fear of punishment or your love? Why do you think that is so?
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The Beatitudes describe the ideal heart character for every citizen in the Kingdom of heaven. It’s a description of the characteristics of Christ, when embraced by us bring happiness or blessings. The kind of happiness that is not dependent on our circumstances. Each Beatitude describes you as blessed or joyful and ends with a promise.
Matthew 5:1-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Sermon on the Mount
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “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.
3. Describe a time you felt persecuted for your faith or felt like you were judged for living a different way than the people around you.
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We are going to take look at the 7 steps we will be working through in Grace and Truth. Each step is inspired by a beatitude, additional scriptural truth and the 12steps used by AA for recovery. We will study and complete each step in depth after several months of preparation but here is a summary.
Grace and Truth 7 Steps for Spiritual Growth and Wellness
Step 1 POWERLESSNESS
I admit I am powerless over my destructive responses & sin apart from God.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Romans 7:7 “I know nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I desire to do what is good, but cannot carry it out.
AA Step 1 We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Step 2 TRUST
I believe God will love, comfort and transform me as I explore & grieve the truth of sin revealed in my story.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Phillipians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and act according to His good purpose.
AA Step 2 Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Step 3. SURRENDER
I surrender my free will too God and seek to live out His truth and will in my life.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”.
Romans 12:1. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is our spiritual act of worship”.
AA Step 3 Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Step 4 HEARTWORK
I will do the work required of me in the transformation & recovery process prescribed by God.
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Lamentation 3:40 “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.
James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”.
James 4:10. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up”.
AA Step 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. AA Step 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
AA Step 6. We are entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. AA Step 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Step 5 LOVE
I will evaluate my relationships and choose peace and mercy.
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”.
Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift as the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be concealed to your brother; then come and offer your gift”.
AA Step 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. AA Step 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Step 6 TRANSFORMATION
I will continue to pursue recovering the attributes of God in my life daily.
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”.
AA Step 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. AA Step 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Step 7 DISCIPLESHIP
I will share my story of Grace and Truth and the insights God has given me.
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”.
Psalm 32 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Colossians 3:16. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
2 Cor 1:4. “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give the same comfort God has given us.”
AA Step 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
3.What areas of your life do you feel powerless over?
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4.When you realize you have made a poor decision or sin do you feel safe confessing that to God and or someone else? Why?
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5.What areas in your life do you struggle to control?
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6.Have you accepted Jesus as your savior and been baptized yet?
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7.How do you feel when you read Lamentations 3:40 and it tell you that you need to examine your ways?
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8.What did discipline look like in your household growing up?
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9.Did you parents model confessing sin or mistakes? How did that effect you?
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10.Name one person you need to forgive. Name one person you need to apologize to.
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11.Would you say your home growing up was full of peace and mercy, please describe.
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12. Describe your current “plan” to remain spiritual healthy and growing?
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13. Describe a way you have ministered out of your brokenness in the past.
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Now take a deep breath, whatever your answers were I want you to acknowledge that you are only human, God loves you exactly as you and so do we.
Lesson 2 Big ideas
God uses the pain we experience in life to strengthen us.
The beatitudes offer us a description of what the character of Christ in us can look like.
You are blessed when you follow God’s instruction plan for your design.
The 7 Steps of Grace and Truth in your story are based on the Beatitudes, additional scripture and AA’s 12 steps of recovery.