I. SPIRITUAL LEADERS

John was a pastor being coached in developing his life plan and ministry vision. He wanted to develop foundational thinking in his discipleship ministry. He questioned what would be the key issues that he should meditate on as he developed his thinking. His coach suggested Matthew 5, where Jesus teaches eight key attitudes that must be incorporated into the life of the disciple. The coach asked the pastor to look at this passage and identify the eight attitudes. These are sometimes called “Beatitudes.”

In this chapter, we will look at the introduction that Jesus gives his disciples as they begin to follow him. In Matthew 4:19 He invites these young men to “follow him, and he promised to make them fishers of men.”  Yet sometimes our current reality in following Jesus is that we are not fishers of men. He then gives us the action step…. Follow me.  What is our intended future? Fishers of men? Wow! What a statement. Do you want that? Then let’s learn what steps we need to take to start following him from his first sermon in Matthew chapter 5.  Let’s start by reading the first verses of Chapter 5 from verse 1 to verse 16.  As your coach, I want you to identify the 7 or 8 attitudes that Jesus describes and the resulting qualities if these attitudes are in place.

Matthew 5:1-16 

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

1. List the eight attitudes: Note the first four are about our relationship with God, and the second four concern our relationships with people.  Why do you think that is significant?

2. List the resulting qualities vs. 14-16. What will your intended future look like?

3. Which attitudes do you not understand?

4. How can you take steps to grow in understanding these key attitudes?

5. Which ones do you see working in your life?

6. Which ones are missing or unclear?

7. What can we do to take steps to understand how they are linked together?

1. Pick one attitude that you see is strong in you. Describe it. How did it get strong?

2. Which attitude is weak in you? What can you do to grow in this attitude?

3. Let’s then imagine this attitude in your life and what it will look like.

4. What steps do you need to take to move toward that attitude being a reality?

5. Let’s work on the rest of the attitudes in the same way.

6. Now picture all the attitudes in place and what will happen in your life from these verses.

7. What will show up in your life when you are salt and light?

8. Describe what happened in this coaching session. What changes did you get to observe?

9. How can I help you implement your planned improvement steps?

Follow this link to see another illustration of how the Beatitudes link us to POWER!

1. What is the most important part of this lesson to you? Explain.

2. How do you see applying aspects of this lesson to your life?

3. When do you feel would be the best time to make that application?

4. What do you hear the Lord speaking to you about this right now?