Nelson Thermitus - Kingdom Manifesto (Volume 1): Studies on the Sermon on the Mount: The Beautiful Attitudes

Kingdom
Manifesto
Volume 1 Studies on the Sermon on the Mount
The Beautiful Attitudes Dr. Nelson Thermitus

2020 Dr. Nelson Thermitus

Kingdom Manifesto Volume 1

Studies on the Sermon on the Mount
The Beautiful Attitudes

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Excerpt from Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew by William Hendiksen, copyright 1973.

Used by permission of Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Matthew (Believers Church Bible Commentary) by Richard Gardner 1991 Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22803. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Excerpt taken from The Preachers Commentary Series, Volume 24: Matthew by Myron S. Augsburger Copyright 1982 by Word Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotation marked KJV is from the King James Version. Public domain.

Taken from The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom by R. Kent Hughes, 2001. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019919442

ISBN 978-1-400329847 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-400329854 (eBook)

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T hank you to immediate familyespecially, my wife, Carline Titus-Thermitus, the true writer in the family, for the beautiful poems at the end of each chapter, these octaves follow the pattern of the number of the Beatitudes; and my children, Charis, Corban, and Nicole, for helping shape my beautiful attitudes. I know Ill have to answer a lot of questions when they read this. They will have to read this whole book though to truly know what I mean. Please pray for me. I would also like to thank the members of New Jerusalem Baptist Church for sitting through my series of sermons on this topic (which is not an easy task, by the way). Thanks to all the students and faculty of Evangelical Bible Institute for embracing me with all my flaws. Gods not done with me yet.

G ratitude is owed to the King of kings, to all the wonderful experiences He has allowed me to live through, the education I have received, and the inspiration to put these thoughts on paper. You may be asking, who is the King of kings? Read on. As a subject in His kingdom, I am fully aware that I am royalty and I need to be loyal to Him before all things. Yes, you read that last sentence right. I am a son of the King and therefore royalty. No, I am not delusional. Isnt it better to be wrong in this lifetime than to be wrong for an eternity? Please put your thinking cap on as you read this book. A lot of us struggle with identity issues and forget who we are and most importantly whose we are. As you read this book, take some time to reflect and focus on what is important. What changes do we need to make in our lives as sons and daughters of the King? If you are not yet part of this wonderful family, I beg you to do what is necessary in order to become royalty.

Let me be honest, manifesto was not the first choice of words to include in the title of this book, probably because, lately, it has been associated with a lot of negative connotations. However, according to the Merriam-Websters dictionary, it simply means a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer. This series of books is not my manifesto but the manifesto of the King of Kings: Jesus Christ.

Maplewood, NJ, August 2019

Merriam-Webster Inc, Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

T he manifesto of the King of kings was given on a mountain in the form of a sermon. It is so famous and intrusive that you probably have memorized bits and pieces of it without even realizing it. For example, have you heard of the golden rule? How have you applied this rule in your lives? The manifesto is also thoroughly expansive because this current book is only about its introduction.

You may have picked up this book but is not a Christian. Do not worry. A lot of non-Christians have admired this manifesto. Craig Blomberg has stated that perhaps no other religious discourse in the history of humanity has attracted the attention which has been devoted to the Sermon on the Mount. Philosophers and activists from many non-Christian perspectives who have refused to worship Jesus nevertheless have admired his ethic. In the twentieth century, Mohandas Gandhi was the sermons most famous non-Christian devotee. The manifesto has invaded even the thoughts and lives of non-followers of its issuer: Jesus Christ. Have you considered becoming a follower of this great leader? If you are already a follower, what does this sermon mean to you? The tax collector Matthew wrote in his gospel (Mat 5:1-2, KJV): And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying We will spend a lot of time in examining what He had to say. However, let us first examine the crowds who were following Him. Would you have been part of that crowd?

You can find where the crowds came from in the previous chapter of the gospel of Matthew in 4.25: And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. They literally came from all over the place. All over the world today, you will find followers of the King. Some of them were probably looking for a healer because He is powerful enough to heal solely by speaking. Some had already witnessed plenty of miraculous acts performed by this King they were following. Some were poor and hungry and wanted to be fed. Some of them simply desired to be taught. Some were unhappy and did not expect to be blessed by the King. How can you be in this type of predicament and thought you are blessed? But they were. Is that good news for the poor? Is that freedom to the captives? Is this freedom for the oppressed? Dr. Luke in his gospel in chapter 4:1819 reminded us that the year of the Lord was upon them: