Lessons From The Tent

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 42  The uniqueness of the kingdom – persecution because of Christ 
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:11, 12 (1) 
Hebrews 1:8, 9 (2) 
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (3) 
 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. I wish you could see the view from the window of our bedroom. My son and his wife decided to grow sunflowers in the front yard of our property and as they have now blossomed, the view for the past several weeks has been spectacular; especially as the sun rises. The sunflowers face away from us toward the rising sun, and as we look out our window, it looks like a large group of people standing there watching the sun rise. It is quite beautiful. 
This attitude lesson about persecution is connected to the previous one on suffering for the sake of righteousness. The difference is this persecution comes because of the name of Christ, for Jesus is not popular in the domain of darkness; in fact, it is better to say He is more often hated. Here is the last of the beatitudes.  
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (1) 
When you read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and see the life of Christ it is hard to figure out why anyone would hate Him. He continually did good; He instantly healed every kind of sickness and charged nothing for it; He cast out demons who had crippled people mentally; and He lived meagerly and didn’t ask for a collection to support Himself.  
So why would anyone hate such a good person as Jesus? The answer is simple. The domain of darkness hated Him just as it does now for the same reason – Jesus claimed to be the one true God. And if He is, then there is no other alternative but to submit to Him and live the way He wants you to, and that is the reason He is hated. 
Fallen humans want to control their own lives, and they despise willingly surrendering to the reign of Christ. Over the course of history there have been hundreds of religious wars, but these have never been orchestrated by God. His kingdom is not grown by conquering people against their will. His kingdom grows, one person at a time as they learn what Christ as done for them and then turn to God so He can rescue them from the domain of darkness. And this is never done by force. God overpowers people by love, kindness and truth. 
God has used His people Israel at times to destroy a nation to stop the evil atrocities they were doing such as sacrificing their children to phony Gods. He has even used other countries to punish Israel when they were sacrificing their children to idols. God loves children and has gone to great lengths to protect and save them from the brutality of adult religious worship of idols.  
But God does not go to war to conquer people and force them to be in His kingdom. His kingdom is a reign of peace. Let me give you the definition of His kingdom as taught throughout the Bible. God’s kingdom is a people willingly surrendered to the reign of God and who actively participate in an intimate partnership with Him. There is nothing about this that comes through force. Willingness is the key to the growth of His kingdom.  
So then, why would those in the domain of darkness persecute those in the kingdom? Because of all that Jesus represents. It says in the Bible that God crowns Jesus as King over the kingdom because Jesus loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. (2)  
Nothing shows how ugly the domain of darkness, or the freewill of people and Satan is more than their aggression against Jesus and His followers. There has never been a better person on this planet and for that Jesus was brutally killed. And the reason is, evil can’t stand righteousness and they will go to obscene lengths to prevent God’s righteous kingdom from growing.  
I want to point out something Jesus said about this attitude to clarify this persecution – it only comes because of Him – not because of our bad behavior. This is key. As Jesus also said, “for in the same way they treated the prophets who were before you.” And who were the “they” Jesus was referring to who persecuted the prophets? They were the religious leaders of Israel. And yes, these religious leaders were strongly embedded in the domain of darkness. You can see Solomons words are still true today when he said, “That which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.” (3) 
The prophets of old were persecuted and often killed because they spoke for God and this usually meant they confronted a king who was not leading God’s people the way God wanted. And when they did this, after a while the king got tired of hearing them all because he wanted to do things his way, and so they would kill the prophet who was telling them to repent.  
The bottom line was they did not want to surrender to God’s reign. They wanted to do their own thing. And just as Solomon said, “nothing has changed.” The reign of God is still hated and as we have learned, Jesus is the reign of God. 
Those who represent Him must represent His reign and for that we can expect to get insulted, persecuted, have lies spoken about you, and even be killed. Satan hates the reign of God, and he influences those in the domain of darkness to hate the same thing he does.  
So, just as Jesus said – if you follow Christ expect to be persecuted, but rejoice because God is fully aware of everything that happens to you and just as Jesus said, you will be rewarded greatly when you get to heaven. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – Being persecuted because of Christ is a badge of honor. Wear it proudly. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 41 The uniqueness of the kingdom – persecution for doing what’s right. 
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:11 (1) 
John 15:18, 19 NLT (2) 
2 Timothy 3:12 NLT (3) 
Hebrews 4:12, 13 (4) 
 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. So far, we have talked about seven attitudes that Jesus wants those in His kingdom to have, and each one makes living in the kingdom unique. But this eighth attitude makes it both absurd and unique because now Jesus teaches that we are to have intense happiness because we were persecuted. Really? Who enjoys getting persecuted? Listen to what Jesus said about this attitude. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (1) 
Did Jesus really say He wants those in His kingdom to be happy because they were persecuted for the sake of righteousness? He sure did!  And this is the same intense inward happiness that all the other attitudes produce.  
The first thing we need to understand is persecution does not cause our happiness. A person who lives these seven attitudes that Jesus has been teaching will already have this intense happiness before they get to the place of being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. 
What Jesus means here is if you have these seven attitudes you will not lose your happiness even though you are mistreated for doing right. And that is unique, because persecution is typically ugly and no one likes it. It can be physical, mental or emotional mistreatment but in any case, persecution is hard to deal with.  
These eight attitudes are right, according to God, and when we have them, we are then unique.  And a commitment to doing right will often lead to mistreatment because God says His ways are not our ways and these beatitudes certainly prove this.  
Desiring and doing what is right is fundamental to life in the kingdom of God and when we do, it is very likely someone in the domain of darkness will not like it and quite possibly you may feel the brunt of their anger in hostile attitudes; condemning words; or physical aggression towards you. 
One thing that stands out clearly is life in the kingdom is completely different than life in the domain of darkness. Whenever a person in the kingdom chooses to live the way Jesus wants them to, those in the domain of darkness will not like it. All around the world right now there are people being tortured and many are being killed for doing nothing more than following the ways of God. And that has gone on all through history. But listen to what Jesus said about this to His disciples.  
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (2) 
And if that isn’t enough listen to another passage in the Bible about this. “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (3) 
If someone even wants to live a godly life, they will suffer persecution according to the Bible. That really shows how opposed the blindly ignorant domain of darkness world is to those living the way Jesus taught His disciples to live in the kingdom. 
The Bible is full of illustrations of people being mistreated for the sake of righteousness, but I would like to draw our attention to situations that occur today. For example, the Bible is very clear that homosexuality is wrong and often when a Christian speaks out against it instantly there is a significant amount of persecution against them. I have known people who have lost their jobs because they refused to do something God said was wrong. Things like this and many more take place all around us. From now on when you hear of things like this, pay attention to them and think of what Jesus said here. As you do I hope it will encourage you  to do what is right no matter what it may cost you to do it. 
Now I would like to talk about the result of this attitude for in some ways it almost seems to contradict what Jesus said earlier. The first attitude of being poor in spirit gave us the kingdom and now Jesus says those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness have the kingdom. So how does that work? 
These two concepts are very different because of the word “theirs” is the kingdom. The original word translated “theirs” has to do with personal ownership. It’s like saying, “Since I have the kingdom what can you do to me?” And Jesus wants those in His kingdom to feel the same way by thinking, “persecution cannot prevent me from obeying God, so don’t even bother trying to stop me from doing what He wants me to do.”  
These words of God are more than just printed words on a page. Here is what the Bible says about this: “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (4)  
God’s word will produce results in the people who have faith in it, and those results will give us extreme happiness and assurance that we are in His kingdom. 
 Because Jesus said, Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, you should personally take ownership that you are in the kingdom and do right with confidence for no one can take the kingdom away from you. God gave it to you and there isn’t anything anyone can do about it. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – if you are in the kingdom, stand up for what’s right, because as one of God’s favored ones even persecution cannot take that away from you. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 40 The uniqueness of the kingdom – Being a peacemaker (part 3) 
Bible References: 
Romans 4:25-5:11 NLT (1) 
Hebrews 11:6 (2) 
Romans 8:1 (3) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. I would like to start today’s lesson by reading a passage of the Bible that is very important in our look at being a peacemaker. This passage brings out everything we have been taking about in terms of what it means to be a peacemaker. The Apostle Paul wrote this, and it is one of the great examples from the Bible describing how to have peace with God. Here is what this passage says. 
He (Jesus) was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God. 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. 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 the truth of God. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 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. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (1) 
The first thing to notice is the role of Jesus as a peacemaker. Everything about having peace with God is the result of the life of Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross and this stands out vividly in this passage. Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker.  
It says that “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God. 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.”  
It can’t get any clearer than that. But I do want to draw attention to the concept of faith for as we have learned already, because “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (2)  
And as this passage says, “we have been made right in God’s sight by faith.” The sacrifice of Christ for all the sins ever committed by us humans is a fact of life. Therefore, sin is not keeping anyone out of the kingdom. What separates someone from experiencing “peace with God” is a person’s lack of faith in all Christ did. We also learn what peace with God is in practical terms, it says we now have become friends with God. And friendship with God is not like friendship with anyone else because as we have already learned, “there is never any condemnation to anyone who has peace with God.” (3) 
We also learn here that what we have received from Christ is far more than any of us deserve just as it says, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege. What a great way to describe how fortunate it is to be rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. It is an undeserved privilege. As this passage also says, Jesus didn’t die for us because we were anything special. He died for us when we were still great sinners, yet because of God’s love for us, He sent Christ to restore us to this beautiful friendship with God that we were first created to have. 
We also see that when God gives us the Holy Spirit, it fills us with His love. So many people want the world to be filled with love and yet here in this passage we learn exactly how this can occur. Be filled with the Spirit and you will be filled with love. 
Jesus said we are to preach the gospel of the kingdom as a testimony and this passage from Romans 5 is a must to not only know but to personally experience. Without applying faith and believing to everything said in this passage there can be no “testimony.” And if you see that you haven’t experienced all this then ask yourself – what’s holding you back?  
What a privilege it is to be a disciple of the Great King Jesus. And if you are then what a tremendous opportunity it is to be His disciple and learn from the Holy Spirit so you can help take the good news of the kingdom to the world you live in. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – being a peacemaker is so important to God that if you are you, are called His son. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com
 

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 39 The uniqueness of the kingdom – Being a peacemaker (part 2) 
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:9 (1) 
Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9 (2) 
Matthew 24:14 (3) 
Luke 4:43 (4) 
Matthew 24:14 (5) 
1 John 2:1, 2 (6) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. This is the second part of being a peacemaker and nothing teaches us the importance of this more than what the reward for this attitude brings. Those who are peacemakers are called “sons of God.” (1) Let me remind you, this is what Jesus was called, so you can see those who are peacemakers are held in great esteem by God.  
Jesus was unequivocally the Son of God because of His nature. He was God in a human body. (2) But that is not what someone becomes when they are a peacemaker, for no one can ever turn into God.  
What then did Jesus’ mean? Peacemakers are called “sons of God” because they do the same work Jesus was sent here to do and that was, preach the good news of the kingdom so people could be restored to peaceful harmony with His Father. (3)  
The original word translated peace when used concerning God means the state of a soul that fears nothing from Him. So, a peacemaker is someone who helps others learn about the kingdom of God, for it is only those who have been rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son who can be restored to this type of harmony between themselves and God. 
The disciples lived with Jesus three years and during their whole time together with Him, He constantly taught them about the kingdom. (4) He did not waste time on small talk, political ideology or local news. He poured into His followers the truth they needed to know about the kingdom before He was crucified and returned to heaven. Jesus spent three years morning, noon, and night teaching His followers, so you can see the good news of the kingdom is not a simple message. And the reason is because the good news of the kingdom encompasses everything about life and death. Everything!  
You may be wondering how a disciple of Christ also has the time to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the world as Jesus commanded, after all we have to work, raise families, and do all the things necessary to take care of those things that come from living in the world.  
God knows this, but our interaction in the domain of darkness is the world He wants us to share the good news in. Living, working, shopping, and playing in the world of the domain of darkness gives us ample opportunities to demonstrate kingdom living while also displaying God’s purpose for life. 
This is the way Jesus taught His disciples how to preach the good news of the kingdom. Listen to what He told them after three years of their traveling and learning from Him. 
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (5)  
The key to this is Jesus wants His disciples to preach the good news as a testimony, which means they must experience what the invisible kingdom brings to their lives before they go preach it. What Jesus wants is for those who are experiencing life in the kingdom to share their experiences with those in the domain of darkness.  
Does that mean everyone in the kingdom must live perfect lives before they can preach the good news of the kingdom? If it did there would be no one, including the disciples of Jesus who could ever preach the good news.  
What this looks like as a “testimony” is a person accepts the things we have been talking about for the past 38 lessons by faith and responds with believing actions as they apply to their lives the things Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom. And when they fail, they apply the forgiveness and grace they have receive from God because of the propitiation of Jesus for their sins. (6)  
The joy that comes to those whose sins have been forgiven is a tremendous testimony to those in the domain of darkness. For it should cause us to live in a continual state of thankfulness that should inspire us to share the good news with those in the domain of darkness who have no idea what Jesus did for them.  
It’s your personal transformation that becomes your testimony to anyone who is interested in the good things that are taking place in your life.  
This is the evolving way of life in the kingdom. We learn, we grow and then we share the good news that is taking place in our own lives. And we are to continually learn, continually grow and continually transform. This is how we become a living testimony of the good news of the kingdom.  
But how is someone supposed to preach this good news of the kingdom to all the nations? The first thing to realize is wherever you live is exactly where Jesus said to preach the good news of the kingdom. Most likely you are not living anywhere close to where Jesus was when He said this, because He was in Israel in the town of Jerusalem.  
The second thing to realize is the people He told to go do this were His disciples. So, first ask yourself – are you a disciple, or learner of the things Jesus taught His disciples? Notice, I didn’t ask you if you went to church. Going to church doesn’t mean you are a disciple of Jesus. Churches are full of people who are not dedicated to learning what Jesus taught His disciples so they can become peacemakers themselves.  
Being a disciple of Jesus is a 24 hour a day adventure; not a one hour every Sunday contribution. If you are a 24-hour a day disciple, then you are already in the right place to be a peacemaker.  
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – If you become a peacemaker, Jesus Himself will proudly call you a “son of God” because you will be doing the very work, He did. 
Hope to see you next week for part 3. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 38 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – Being a peacemaker (part 1)  
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:9 (1) 
Galatians 5:23 (2) 
Matthew 28:18 - 20 (3) 
Luke 4:43 (4) 
John 8:29 (5) 
Luke 19:12 (6) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. This is the seventh attitude Jesus wants those in the kingdom to have. When we yield to the Holy Spirit and He produces these attitudes in us, we become unique ourselves. Remember, these attitudes are not normal for us fallen human beings. They only come as the result of the power and effort of the Holy Spirit when we surrender in gentleness and allow God to restore us to the image of His Son through His pure in heart pruning.  
With this next attitude though, there is a considerable change in what Jesus wants from us. Here are His words.  
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons God.” (1)  
The original word peacemaker has to do with someone producing or making something. And the focus of what is being produced turns this attitude into something different than the other six. The peace that Jesus wants is a harmonious relationship between God and man.  
What makes this attitude so interesting though is that Jesus wants those in His kingdom to help others attain this peace. And to add a little more challenge to it, this peace is a fruit produced by the Spirit, (2) and yet Jesus wants those in His kingdom to be peace - makers.  
Since this type of peace is a fruit of the Spirit, how does one fallen, sinful human help another fallen sinful human attain peace between themselves and God for that is what Jesus wants His people to do.  
This is another thing that makes the kingdom so unique. The King wants to partner with those in His kingdom and work with them to help others attain a more harmonious relationship with His Father.  
Christ gave His life so people could experience the peace that a relationship with God brings. And He now wants His favored ones to help others attain this peaceful fruit of the Spirit. 
So far, everything Jesus taught about these attitudes was focused on those in His kingdom learning to have these attitudes, but this time He changes things. Now Jesus wants His people to help others experience this way of living in the kingdom.  
Later Jesus calls this “making disciples.” Let me read what He told His disciples after He had died and rose again.  
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (3) 
The word disciple means to become a pupil or a learner. Those who followed Jesus were called His disciples, which meant, they were following Him because they wanted to learn. And as Jesus reveals He wants all those in His kingdom to learn the things He taught His disciples so they can become peacemakers themselves. 
Jesus wants all His followers to be disciples; which means He wants those in His kingdom to learn about all the things He taught His disciples. And as we learn we then partner with His Spirit to teach others the same things. This is life in the kingdom. 
Being a disciple is an evolving door of learning and teaching, learning and teaching, learning and teaching. And that should never stop no matter how short a time you have been in His kingdom or how long you have been.  
As a disciple we are to dedicate ourselves to learn and understand what Jesus taught His disciples and then help others learn, understand and teach others also.  
In the early part of His ministry a group of people came and asked Jesus not to leave them but to remain in their city so they could continue to learn from Him. That seems a fair desire for anyone who follows Jesus. But that was not Jesus’ plan at that moment in time. Here is how He responded to their request. He said He could not stay with them because “He must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for He was sent for this purpose.” (4) 
The original word preach means to tell or proclaim the good news of the kingdom. If Jesus said He was sent here to preach the good news of the kingdom you can be assured that is exactly what He did everywhere He went because He was an exceptionally obedient Son. He was not like us. He always did what His Father wanted just as He told the Pharisees when they didn’t like the good news He was teaching. (5)  
When Jesus said He “must” preach the kingdom, the original word must means He had to do this to accomplish the end of His purpose, which we know was to get a kingdom as He revealed in a later parable. (6) 
God’s peace is a quality of life where the inner being of a person is in harmony with God the Father and Jesus His Son. The Bible says Jesus conquered all our enemies which are sin, death, Satan and our own corrupted fallen heart. And because of that we can now be restored to harmonious peace because we have been forgiven and reborn with the seed of Christ in us. We are new people and the seed of Christ is always in perfect harmony with God. 
So, a peacemaker is at peace with God and teaches others the good news of the kingdom just as Jesus did His disciples. And there is no better work we can ever do, because a peacemaker fulfills the eternal purpose of God for His people. No wonder Jesus’ disciples can be so happy. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – Be a peacemaker by helping others learn what Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom.  
Hope you join us next week for part 2. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 37 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – A personal testimony God’s pure in heart pruning (part 4)  
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:8 (1) 
1 Corinthians 2:13 (2) 
Psalms 16:11 (3) 
 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. As the title says this lesson will be a personal testimony of my experience with God’s pure in heart pruning. And yes, this involves trials, difficulty, pain and some intense struggles.  
I don’t know if you listened to my Lesson titled “Thanksgiving 2025” because I didn’t give it a Lesson number, but it does show in the Podcast Lessons. I hope you have.  
In that lesson I shared that my wife Joan had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and at Thanksgiving we did not know the full extent of what that may turn out to be. Let me update you. She did have a mastectomy, and several lymph nodes removed. She just finished Radiation and the Oncologist said she only has a one percent chance now of her cancer ever returning. We praise God for that. 
A month after her surgery though I went in for a routine checkup with our doctor, and he discovered I had stage 4 prostate cancer, which had metastasized into several lymph nodes around my bladder. He also discovered I had melanoma cancer on my back, and my left kidney had gone into stage 4 kidney disease, which if it continues dropping much more means I will have to go on dialysis.  
As you can see Joan and I have been going through the pure in heart pruning process, but I can honestly say that we are both thankful for what we have gone through. God has used our trials and difficulties to cut away some of our branches that were not producing the fruit He wants, and just as He promised He has let us “see Him” in a much more beautiful way as the result of our struggles. 
Both of my cancers have been successfully dealt with now, so it looks like God is going to let me continue producing more Lessons From The Tent. The issue with my kidney is still a big question but Joan and I are content. How could we not be for look what God did with our cancers. 
Now to dig into the attitude of “happy are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. (1)  
As a married couple we have both gone through several pruning processes during our fifty-six years of marriage. One thing about being married, when one spouse goes through trials, difficulty, pain and some intense struggles, the other one goes through them also. Such is the relationship of marriage. So, we have felt each other’s trials and pains over the years. And I must say, they have helped mold us into the people we are today and helped us to love each other more through the process.  
With all the pure in heart pruning God has done in our lives, these cancers though have been the most challenging. Both of us were facing the real possibility of death. We know that everyone is going to die for dying is absolute - but living an abundant life is not. Joan and I have been so very fortunate to have experienced this exceedingly, remarkable, abundant life, and we both understand this has come as the result of God’s pure in heart pruning. We are fully aware that without the gift of God’s Spirit reigning in our lives all these struggles would have been just difficult trials and tribulations. 
For a long time now Joan and I have enjoyed a deep love for each other but when facing our cancers, this brought about another challenge to our suffering; for we came to realize the greater the love, the greater the loss if God decided to call one of us home. That discussion came up often in our talking over the past several months. But we are now thankful for the gift of cancer because our understanding of God and our love for each other has grown wonderfully through all this. 
We can attest that God never let us struggle by ourselves. He has not only been intimately connected to us every step of the way, but we know He experienced everything we felt because He is “jointed” to our spirit. And through all this He used His Spirit to teach us just as He promised He would. (2)  
Now let me show you how His Spirit did this. 
Almost every time Joan and I talked about our cancer we seemed to always look back at our lives, and as we did, we continually saw how God had graciously blessed us so many times, in so many ways. We have a tremendous family and friends, and this stands out strongly when looking back over our lives while going through our cancers. These stood out so much we both determined we had nothing to complain about even if God would take one of us or both of us home. We have truly experienced an abundant life that was more than remarkable.  
Of course, if He did take one of us, the one left behind would certainly go through a significant amount of suffering, for the greater the love the greater the loss. And we shed many tears about this during these past several months. 
But when you are absolutely convinced that this present world is full of the domain of darkness and yet in God’s presence is the fullness of joy, (3) how can you not look forward with anticipation and thanksgiving to His calling us home? Because this is what we believe, we can be excited when God does decide to take us to be with Him. And that is what the Spirit so warmly taught us throughout the possibility of losing our soul mate.    
And this is the result of applying faith and believing in the truth of God. Without this we would have experienced all these difficulties without the hope and peace that there is so much more to life and death then the blindly ignorant ways that the domain of darkness offers us. If that was all there is to life, that would be an absolute shame. And certainly, there would be no joy in death. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing − our personal experience with God’s pure in heart pruning has caused Joan and I to love each other in a far richer way and experience His lovingkindness even in the face of death.  And for that we are truly thankful.  
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 36 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – seeing God (part 3)  
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:8 (1) 
1 Corinthians 2:11-13 (2) 
Galatians 5:22-24a (3) 
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (4) 
1 John 4:7-11 (5) 
James 1:2-4 (6) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. This will be part 3 of “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (1) I would like to revisit the verse we closed out the previous lesson with for there is still more to be learned. Here is the verse I am referring to, “For who among men knows the thoughts of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” (2) 
I would like to begin by focusing on the word “combining” used in this passage. As I said before, the original word means jointing two things together that do not belong together. This is not just joining God’s Spirit with our spirit. This word means God’s Spirit is intimately jointed to our spirit in such a way they cannot be separated.  
This passage also says that the Spirit wants to teach us the things freely given to us by God. The fruit of the Spirit which is, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (3) are things freely given to us. But this beautiful fruit comes from the Holy Spirit not from any school, or any other human means.  
And these fruits are not normal. For example, the love God refers to is His love which is in stark contrast to our human love. The Bible defines real love this way, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not detract from one’s appearance, character, or reputation, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (4) As you can see this is not our natural human love; human love fails all the time.  
The Bible says God is love, so that means these are the attributes of God, His Son Jesus and His Holy Spirit. When He prunes us, He wants to transform us so we can clearly see these attributes in Him and allow the Holy Spirit to then produce them in us. 
This is life in the kingdom. It is a constant life of learning, understanding and growing and this mostly takes place through trials. And it should for we have fallen so far away from what we were created to be that God’s normal way of living is not even considered when we act out of our human freewill. But that is what God wants to change so we can experience the abundant life that exceeds all expectations; is superior to any other way to live; is extraordinary, uncommon and more than remarkable.  
Let me share with you how valuable love is in our relationship with God. And remember, love is a fruit of the Spirit. Here is what the Bible says.  
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.” (5) 
There is another aspect to the Spirit of God being jointed to our spirit that we must realize. With the Holy Spirit so intimately jointed to our spirit, whenever God does prune us, the Spirit feels our pain just as much as we do. He is connected to us so intricately that everything we feel, He feels. God is so intimately jointed to us He experiences every aspect of our pain and suffering.  
Being His favored ones and indwelled with His Spirit, God is personally connected to everything we do and go through. He does not pull away and let us struggle all alone. He goes through it with us. So, even as He prunes us, He feels the pain He causes us when He does.  
But God doesn’t just feel our pain. In the midst of our suffering He is also continually teaching us the things freely given to us so we can see His hidden attributes and understand His ways. And the clearer our vision of God becomes the smaller our difficulties in life will then appear.   
His purposes are only good, and it is only the pure in heart, unworthy sinners who get to experience this abundant life. What a privilege it is to go through pain and suffering, trials and tribulations knowing God’s Spirit is not only intimately jointed to us, but He is continually pruning our relationship with Him so we can see Him with the eyes of our heart.  
When the Bibe refers to our heart it is talking about our inner person, the real human, inside our brain, not the physical body. And this is where we need to see and understand God.  
This is the journey of the pure in heart under the reign of the Spirit of God. Their suffering produces beauty beyond measure. Seeing God is worth all the trials and tribulations, pain and suffering His favored ones go through. And this is life in the unique kingdom. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – The pure in heart get to see God in a way that is humanly impossible but promised by the very One we get to see. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 35 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – seeing God (part 2)  
Bible References: 
John 15:1-5 NLT (1) 
John 15:10 (2) 
Galatians 5:22, 23 (3) 
1 Corinthians 2:11-13 (4) 
 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. Yesterday I saw something very unusual outside my tent. Apparently, my neighbors’ chickens think the grass is greener on our side of the fence because a couple of hens and roosters flew over and set up nesting in our un-mowed tall grass. The peacocks though didn’t take kindly to this intrusion into their space and confronted the sitting hen and protecting rooster. As soon as the peacock got within striking range, the rooster jumped on him and a major battle occurred. Beaks were pecking, feet were kicking and scratching, wings were striking each other forcefully and the squawking of the peacock and rooster was intense. After a full minute the battle ended with the larger peacock walking away and the smaller rooster settling back down to protect its hen. That was an interesting way to start my day. 
This is part 2 of our lesson on “seeing God,” and I would like to begin with the words of Jesus as He teaches a little spiritual horticulture. This is what He said.  
“I am the true grapevine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.” (1) 
If you have ever seen a fruit tree pruned it is quite a sight. Good branches are cut back while the unfruitful ones are cut off. If you have ever witnessed this or done it yourself, you can understand the pure in heart pruning Jesus refers to here. And it is obvious that the pruning He is talking about will cause pain. Therefore, we should expect pain in our relationship with God because as a concerned gardener He is not content with His people being fruitless. He wants our new life with Him to grow and the way it does is through pruning.  
I must say this again − God’s pruning will hurt. I have felt it many times in my own life. But I can honestly say that the increased vision of God is worth His cutting back the impure branches of our souls. 
One day Jesus told His disciples that He came to give His followers life and the life He gives will be even more abundant than they could ever imagine.” (2)  
The original word abundant really defines life in the unique kingdom of God. It means exceeding, superior, extraordinary, uncommon, more than remarkable.  
What would you give to have a life like this? God says this is the fruit the Spirit wants to produce in us. And here is how He defines this fruit – “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (3)  
If you are in the kingdom, you can be sure, God will not just let you exist there. He will prune you regularly. That is a promise of God.  
But how does pain produce a life that exceeds all expectations; is superior to any other way to live; is extraordinary, uncommon and more than remarkable? The reason is, God cuts away the characteristics that are not love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  
As His pruning removes the things that get in the way of the abundant life, a new way of living begins to emerge, and it does so with a new vision of God. 
Remember, God doesn’t just violently prune His people from a distance. He partners with us through His Holy Spirit, helping us “know and understand Him” all the way through His pruning. Listen to my favorite Bible passage about this. 
“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man. Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” (4)  
This is one of the astounding aspects of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the partnership God wants to have with His favored ones. Our greatest enemy is not Satan and his domain of darkness. It is our fallen corrupted freewill. This is where Satan tries to influence us, but this is where the Spirit of God partners with our spirit to create a new way of thinking and therefore restructure a new way of living.  
The goal of God’s intervention into our lives is to transform our way of thinking so He can change our way of living to be exceeding, superior, extraordinary, uncommon, and more than remarkable. And the greatest way He does this is through increasing our vision and understanding of Himself.  
This education and transformation process cannot come from any school. It only occurs through the Spirit of God interacting with our spirit “not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” (4) The original word “combining” means two things are jointed together that do not belong together. And those two things are God’s Holy Spirit and our transgression corrupted spirit for they certainly don’t belong together. But more on this in the next lesson. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – When God prunes, He reveals Himself to us so we can understand the remarkable things He wants to freely give us and enjoy a life that is exceeding, superior, extraordinary, uncommon, and more than remarkable. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com
 

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 34 ─ The uniqueness of the kingdom – seeing God (part 1)  
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:8 (1)  
Ephesians 1:18 (2) 
John 17:3 (3) 
Jeremiah 9:23, 24 (4) 
Job 1,2 (5) 
Job 41:5 (6) 
1 Peter 5:10 (7) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. I don’t normally like to start a lesson like this, but I need to warn you ahead of time that today’s lesson is going to hurt. And that’s ok because along the way you will learn, pain can be your friend when you understand how God uses it.  
The next attitude Jesus talks about will at times greatly challenge your relationship with Him while at the same time take you deeper into an understanding of God, and His ways. Here is what Jesus said.  
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (1)   
I think it is best to start with the reward for being pure in heart, which is to “see God” because this benefit brings purpose to pain and suffering. Without understanding this, our trials and tribulations will only be miserable.  
The significance of what Jesus said here can turn our struggles into riches beyond measure. So, let’s start with what it means to “see God.” The original word see means to perceive with your mind, to become acquainted with someone or something through experience so that you can discern, recognize and understand clearly.  
Notice this “seeing” is in your mind and not with your eyes and that it comes through experience. This is extremely important because Jesus said it is the pure in heart who “see God.”  
Since God is a Spirit, He is therefore invisible to our human eyes. So, it is obvious that this “seeing” must take place in our mind. The Bible refers to this as “the eyes of your heart.” (2) 
Now the goal of seeing God this way is we get to understand the intimate details of His character which is the reason He allows His favored ones to go through pain and suffering. And the more we understand God the difficult issues of life can then take on significance.  
As we have already learned, eternal life is getting to know God and Jesus in a deep intimate way. (3) God also revealed to us in the Old Testament that He desires us to know Him deeply. (4)  
There are many passages in the Bible that teach this because God has always wanted His human creation to have a deep, intimate, personal relationship with Him. Unfortunately, it is far too easy for us humans to be so consumed with the normal duties of life that we forget our single greatest duty: Which is, we were created to get to know and understand the invisible God by faith so our lives can be the overflow of our relationship with Him.  
Let me remind you that according to Jesus “seeing God” comes as the result of a “pure in heart” attitude. And as this word “pure” reveals, the way to understand the depths of God comes through trials, tribulation, suffering and pain, for that is what the original word “pure” means.  
We might think being pure in heart has to do with a righteous way of living, but that is not the way to think about this. The purity Jesus speaks of here is an attitude that will influence a more righteous way of living because of what you have learned about God.  
Don’t make the mistake of reversing this. Trials and tribulations, pain and suffering must precede the wonderful gift of “seeing God.” 
The story of Job in the Bible (5) illustrates this from beginning to end. God declared that Job is the most righteous person on earth, but at the end of the story we learn that even though Job was righteous, he did not understand the depths of God’s character. This only happened after He goes through some of the most challenging trials that any human has ever gone through.  
At the end of all his trials and tribulations Job then said, “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eye. So I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” (6) 
I urge you to take some time and read the entire book of Job ASAP, because the question I want to ask you next can only be answered if you understand what Job went through in order to “see God.” Here is the question I want to ask you – When you know what Job went through, do you think it was worth it so he could now “see God” in an understanding way? Job thought so at the end of his struggles, and that speaks volumes.  
If God told Job about all the suffering, He would go through in order to see Him this way, I’m not sure he would have volunteered to experience all he did so he could know God more intimately.  But it is only when a person goes through great suffering that they can gain an understanding of God to this intimate degree. A person cannot know what they are missing until they discover for themselves the intimate knowledge of God gained only from suffering. 
Why is it that only those who go through intense trials and tribulations, pain and suffering gain such a clear understanding of God? It is because of the work God does when a person goes through suffering. This is the “experience” the word “see” refers to. Here is what the Bible teaches about this:  
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”(7)   
Notice it doesn’t say the sufferer makes this happen; it is the “God of all grace” who produces this. 
As God’s favored ones we should never fear suffering and pain because we know that it will produce the great reward of “seeing God” if we surrender in gentleness and allow Him to have His way with us.  
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – According to Jesus, seeing God more clearly is worth pain and suffering; trials and tribulations. 
I hope you will join us for part 2. 
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com

SECTION 3 
In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. 
LESSON 33 The uniqueness of the kingdom – The requirement of mercy  
Bible References: 
Matthew 5:7 (1) 
Galatians 5:17 (2) 
James 1:17 (3) 
Romans 8:29/Ephesians 3:19 (4) 
Romans 2:4 (5) 
Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. For today’s lesson I must start by telling you, I love hiking and backpacking through the mountain ranges of western America. The quietness while walking through extraordinary scenery allows the wonder and beauty of God’s creation to be experienced in ways that the busyness of normal life cannot give me. And every time I have hiked through the mountains there will always be a place where I come to a fork in the trail. The rest of my journey will be determined by which path I then decide to take. If I choose the wrong one, it may take me miles away from my intended destination. But, if I choose the correct one, the trail will take me exactly where I need to go.  
In today’s lesson we have come to a real fork in our journey of life in the kingdom. One path will bring actions of kindness to us from the hand of God while the other path won’t. Two roads, with two very different outcomes.  
But the path we choose will be determined by the four preceding attitudes. Each of these is connected to the one before it which makes our fork in the road choice much easier. Let me explain what I mean.  
Our realization of how God sees us will determine the depth of our mourning for our poor in spirit condition. If we mourn correctly, the comfort we receive from the Spirit of God will naturally cause us to surrender in gentleness and joyously welcome all He wants to do in our lives.  
If we have truly surrendered to the reign of God, we will naturally hunger and thirst after righteousness because His Spirit will be working to recreate us into the image of His righteous Son. And it is here where the fork in our journey through life in the kingdom becomes a choice concerning which way we will go. Listen to what Jesus said about this next attitude. 
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”  (1) 
And this is the fork in the journey we are on in the kingdom. If we choose not to be merciful to those around us, then we can be assured that no mercy will be extended to us from God. If we choose the other path and go through life giving mercy, God says we will receive His mercy. Two paths to travel on in His kingdom that take us in different directions which will greatly alter the course of our life. 
We need to understand what mercy is before we consider the road before us. The original word for mercy is about withholding punishment for sinful actions. For example, God has forewarned us that those who sin will receive the punishment of hell after they die and leave this earth. While living here, God extends mercy to everyone by putting off His judicial punishment allowing everyone the chance to become poor in spirit and be rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.  
A truly poor in spirit person realizes they have received an incredible gift of mercy from God. And if we want to continue to receive His mercy as we travel this road of life in the kingdom, God requires us to give mercy to those who don’t deserve it.  
We regularly need God’s mercy because we continue to sin. Our flesh does not want God’s Spirit to rule in our lives so we resist His will and even fight against it at times. (2) And when we do God does not kick us out of His kingdom. The merciful propitiation of Christ has saved and redeemed us forever.  
So, what happens when we are not merciful to those who treat us badly, or tell lies about us, persecute us, insult us, and hurt us by their actions? If we choose the unmerciful path, God may withhold His merciful acts of kindness that He gives us every day. The Bible says all good things come to us from God (3) and think about this - would you really want that to stop? 
God continually lavishes His grace and kindness on us. But if we choose to not give mercy to someone who has wronged us, He will withhold His deeds of kindness from us. 
Now why would a merciful God do this? He does this because He wants His favored ones to be changed into the image of His Son. (4)  God knows if He ignored our lack of mercy and continued giving good things to us, we would never work on changing our behavior. And He loves us far too much to allow us to continue living our blindly ignorant unmerciful way of life. That is why He withholds His actions of kindness toward us when we are not merciful.  
How then should we respond to those who hurt us? We should respond exactly how God does to us – by doing acts of kindness to those who don’t deserve it. And remember, the Bible says it is the kindness of God that leads us to change the way we think for the better. (5)  
By being kind to someone who doesn’t deserve it we work together with God to help them change the way they think about His merciful salvation. What a tremendous privilege it is that we get to participate with God and give the same mercy we receive from Him to those undeserving fallen people around us. And as we do we help them see the unique character of God’s mercy.  
This is our fork in life where we get to choose to demonstrate the kindness of God to the undeserving domain of darkness world. And where else will blindly ignorant sinners ever learn about the kindness of God if His followers don’t show them? What a privilege this is to be God’s heart of mercy to a mixed up, blindly ignorant world. 
Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – happy are those who give mercy because they will receive undeserved actions of kindness from God Himself.  
-------
Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved
For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/
-------
Produced by Dereck Bradley
Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com