The Promises of Persecution
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:10-12
Since the beginning of the year, we have been walking through the beatitudes, and we have finally made it to the end.
I don’t know about you, but this study through the beatitudes has challenged me greatly. It has caused me to look a little deeper at some things and I truly believe that it has helped me grow closer to God. I hope you can say the same.
Today, we are looking at the last beatitude in the list, which is found in Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Context
Context
Persecute - “Dioko: dee-o’-ko”
Now there is a lot to this word in the original language, but to make it easy, its literal meaning is that of chasing, driving away, or pursuing.
From that meaning, it has come to mean to hunt down, to drive away, to physically harm someone.
That is the meaning here in this text. The base word of “dioko” is simply “dio”, which means to flee in fear.
And its important that we see this understanding of persecution, because in reality it is hard for us to relate to this in our current culture. We have been blessed to live in America. America was founded upon Christian principles, and up until recently, this nation has been run and administered in a way to support and prolong those Christian beliefs and principles.
We are now beginning to see those who are non-Christian rise to the top in politics, business, and other very influential positions in our society, which has moved this country away from these Biblical principles throughout the last century. Because of this, we are also beginning to see that persecution against Christians is on the rise, but we have still never witnessed persecution to the degree that Christians in the first century were persecuted.
Sometimes we forget this. These people, who loved Jesus with every fiber of their being, did so at the expense of their safety and sometimes even their lives.
Now, this beatitude is similar to the others in that one must be tapped into the presence of God in order to portray the necessary character to be persecuted for Christ. This beatitude is meant to portray one who is sold out to God, just like all of the others.
But....this beatitude is different in a sense as well. This is the only beatitude that goes beyond a single verse. All of the other beatitudes offer the expected character trait and the reward that comes with it, but then they stop. This is the only beatitude that goes beyond that and offers two additional verses of explanation, adding emphasis to the beatitude itself.
Within this beatitude, we have a double blessing. Notice the word blessed is used at the beginning of vs. 10 and 11, though they both refer to the same character trait. In a sense, it is as if Jesus is saying that the person who suffers persecution for righteousness’ sake will be double blessed!
Content
Content
The Assurance of Persecution
The Assurance of Persecution
As we have discussed in previous messages, there is a method to the madness so to speak. These beatitudes are not randomly placed, but rather build upon one another. The first four beatitudes are we called internally focused beatitudes. They deal with one’s relationship to God.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit” - this is when someone approaches God spiritually bankrupt. They have come to the end of themselves, realizing that there is nothing within their own power to save themselves, and fully admit in this moment that God is their only hope. They need His grace and mercy and admit it.
“Blessed are those who mourn” - speaks to the brokenness we experience as we see the damage of our sin. We begin to realize how damaging our sin is to us, but most importantly to God. We see the sin in our lives and it absolutely leaves us undone.
“Blessed are the meek” - speaks to the point in which we see Christ in all of His glory. We see Him for who He is, what He has done, the love that He has shown, the sacrifices that He has made. We see Him highly exalted above everything else, and we praise Him because of it. He is right where He belongs. He is the only one deserving of His position and we are glad He is the Alpha and the Omega, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As a result, it changes something inside of us to operate in every way to bring about the glory that is due His name.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” - as we submit to God and lean into His love, we desire to be as He is. Our main goal and purpose becomes to seek out His righteousness, His perfection, His truth in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.
All of these beatitudes deal with our own personal relationship towards God.
The last four beatitudes are externally focused and speak to how we are to treat others, deal with others, and think about others. They are the direct result of getting the first four beatitudes right.
The entire list seems to build, finally reaching the peak of the lesson here in the last beatitude. Persecution is no light thing, and so it is no coincidence that Jesus leaves it until last. Notice the other three beatitudes that come before it deal with being merciful, pure in heart, and being a peacemaker. It is as if Jesus wanted His readers to understand that in order to suffer persecution the right way, one must be able to forgive others, must have a pure heart that sees things from a Godly perspective, and must have the innate desire to make peace. All of these character traits would be necessary in order to suffer well. We all can suffer, but Jesus is speaking here of suffering well.
The build up here seems to imply that there will be persecution. It is as if Jesus is telling all of those who are truly His, “You will need these instructions at some point in your life, so listen closely.”
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
Towards the end of Christ’s ministry, He told His own disciples:
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
Jesus makes it very clear that anyone who truly follows in His footsteps will suffer persecution. It is not a matter of if it will happen, but when it will happen. It is going to happen. He was so confident in this fact and He had every reason to be. Persecution was not some new thing that took place just concerning Jesus, but had indeed been happening forever.
In Acts 7, Stephen has been arrested and tried. He is about to die at the hands of the religious leaders. Saul, or as we know him Apostle Paul, is the ring leader of this escapade. In his final moments, Stephen preaches one of the purest messages you might ever hear.
51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
This text seems to be very condemning in nature, but it really isn’t. Stephen is trying to get them to see that they are making a mistake. They are making the same mistakes that their ancestors made. They are following in the same evil footsteps of their fathers and they don’t even realize it.
Break down the text…
This has not changed. People today continue to follow in those steps. They continue to persecute the Church of the living God. 1 Thessalonians gives us a glimpse as to why:
14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans,
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
Why… because “they do not please God and are contrary to all men.” They are unbelievers. They do not believe in God, and because they do not believe in God, they see us as radicals, as crazy, as discriminating, as narrow-minded, and as bigots. Even though they do not believe in God, they portray God’s moral standard onto us and hold us accountable for what He has said. Saying that certain things are wrong and not ok does not stem from our own personal preferences, but from what God has said. We do not call things sinful simply because we do not like them, but because God has called them sinful.
Because we stand with God, the world stands against us. It has always been this way and it will always be this way.
I think we sometimes forget just how difficult it was for those who lived in NT times. We read through the NT about the miracles, the birth of the Church, God moving in amazing ways, and we have a tendency to see it as all sunshine and rainbows. But the truth is, it was anything but that. These people followed their beliefs at the cost of their lives.
1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…
19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch…
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
Christians who lived during the NT times were on the run. They were literally running for their lives. They had too. It was either run or die. They took their families and all that they had, and they fled to other cities in hopes that they might be safe.
Just yesterday, FOX News reported that in Africa 70 Christians were found beheaded in the Congo area. They were killed by some radical militant group that is aligned with ISIS. 70 Christians… including women and children. But you don’t here about that on the mainstream media.
Why is it that the Church is never the victim? Why is it that everyone in the world has a right to free speech except for the Church? Anyone can say anything they want, believe anything they want… except for the Church. As soon as someone from the Church says anything the world doesn’t want to hear, we are bombarded with negative publicity and we are automatically the enemy, but yet we are not the ones out there setting off bombs, burning buildings to the ground, beheading people from other religious ideologies than ourselves, or starting wars.
Listen, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of persecution. We have been blessed to live in a nation such as this for as long as we have, but do not think for a second that it will last forever. It is happening everywhere else in the world but here, and I fear that is changing quickly. These verses on persecution will mean more to you than you could have ever imagined in the coming years.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…
Now that we have established the Assurance of Persecution, lets move on to the Achievement of Persecution.
The Application of Persecution
The Application of Persecution
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
In this text, we see three different ways that persecution is applied, or carried out.
Slander (say all kinds of evil against you falsely)
Slander is when people are making up stuff and spreading lies about you.
Slander is absolutely evil. When someone slanders another individual, they are fueled by hate. They obviously have an issue with this individual, but their issue is so silly, or unbelievable, that they literally have to make up some stuff about that person in order to get others to hate them too.
This form of persecution is detestable in the eyes of God:
5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy…
18 Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.
9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed…
This is how they finally were able to convict Jesus. They convinced a few guys to make up some lies about Jesus, who then told those lies before the religious council, which led to Jesus being convicted of blasphemy and of course death.
Reviling
To revile someone is to verbally abuse them face to face. It is when someone cusses you or says very hurtful things to you. It is when someone gets right up in your face, screaming and yelling, even threatening you.
It can also mean when someone is overly critical. In this sense it is when someone nitpicks every single detail of your life. It is when someone watches your every move, just waiting for you to make the smallest of mistakes so that they can call you out on it. Their goal is to rip you apart completely. They will critique every word you say, every action you take, and even every thought you make known.
Jesus also suffered from these types of people.
During His ministry, people watched every move He made. No matter what it was, they critiqued every little thing He did. They fussed at Him for healing someone on the Sabbath. They fussed at Him because His disciples plucked a kernel of corn in the field on the Sabbath so they could eat something. They fussed when His disciples did not wash their hands before eating a meal. I mean seriously…
During His ministry, they called Him a blasphemer, a liar, a heretic, a deceiver, and even a son of Satan. They shouted at Him, threatened Him, and spat in His face. There is no limit to what this type of person might say or do.
Physical Harm
This word here for persecute means just that, to do someone physical harm, or even kill. This is the highest level of persecution. This is the level of persecution that is reached when nothing else has worked. When their lies have not worked and their threatenings have not worked, the final plan is to strike fear into someone through physical pain. Violence is the key here. They want to hurt you. They want you to suffer. They are driven by hate and will settle for nothing less.
Notice that all three forms of persecution are in direct opposition to what God calls us to be. The slanderers are liars, but God calls us to speak truth. The Revilers have no self control in their tongues, but we are called to exercise self control. The persecutors are driven by hate, but yet we are called to show love. No true child of God should be involved in persecution because persecution is not of God.
We are called to handle things a different way, a better way, a way that leads people to God, not away from Him.
We have seen the Assurance and the Achievement of Persecution. Now let’s look at the:
The Attitude of Persecution
The Attitude of Persecution
We Are To Remain Focused
We Are To Remain Focused
First, we be sure to remain focused. This is very important. Our focus must remain on God, not ourselves. If we are not careful, we can slip into this mindset of taking things personally, but the truth is, they are persecuting us because of our alignment with God. Their problem is with Him, not with us. When we start to take it personally, we will at some point retaliate, and when that happens, you have given them exactly what they want. We have to stay focused.
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;
God has called us to show love. We are to continue to do that, even in the midst of persecution. Listen, this is why this beatitude was saved for last. The faint of heart will not be able to suffer well. In order to suffer well, one must be in the right frame of mind. And what is that exactly? It is to reach these people for the cause of Christ. Our goal is to help them see the way to God. We cannot do that if we are screaming and yelling at them. We must be willing to suffer for Christ’ sake.
But Bro Thomas, who can do that? Who can take this type of persecution and not retaliate? Many have.
Jesus did:
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
This verse tells us that when Jesus suffered the persecution of the mob, he did not retaliate. Rather, He left them in the hands of God the Father. That should be our attitude. We must remain focused.
We Are To Remain Faithful
We Are To Remain Faithful
We must also remain faithful. The danger of losing focus is that we will most likely fall into sin. Once we cross that threshold, there is no going back. Once we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by the situation to where we lash out in anger, or say something ungodly, or say something judgmental, or even speak truth that is not out of love, we have most likely ruined our chance at reaching those people, or anyone else watching, with the love of Christ.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
He says, “bless and do not curse.” This is the warning. Do not allow them to pull you into their trap. Do not allow them to pull your focus from God. Do not allow them to bring you down to their level.
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
It is only if we remain focused and faithful that the full work of Christ can be accomplished.
We Are To Remain Full
We Are To Remain Full
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Paul says, “I have lost so much for the cause of Christ. I have lost reputation, I have lost power, I have lost position within society, I have lost skin....literally, I have lost so much.....but I count all of those things as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Paul is telling us here that there is a lot to be lost in a worldly sense through persecution, but none of those things in which they can take from you matters near as much as your relationship with Christ. And that my friends is something they cannot take away. They can’t touch that.
See, if I lose focus, it is easy to start feeling like others have taken so much away from me. They took my sense of security, they took my freedom, they took my reputation, they took my money, they burned down my home, they stole my car, they took this or they took that. Yes, we worked hard for those things, and yes it is wrong for them to do such things. It is not only lawfully wrong, it is absolute evil of them to do so. But they cannot take the things that truly matter. They cannot touch your salvation.
Paul was able to remember that regardless of what the world tried to take from him, he remained full in Christ. Christ is the ultimate prize. There is no other prize worth fighting for. There is no other prize of such value. He is all that matters, and praise be to God, they can’t take that away.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Knowing that absolutely nothing in this world can separate us from God brings about a peace in our hearts. It doesn’t mean that suffering won’t still be difficult, or painful, or hard to bear, but it does mean that we know regardless what happens, the most important thing is secure. Now we can look at the same situation with a new perspective:
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
I do not find it coincidental that the beatitudes start and end with the same promise. Both the first and last beatitude promise, “For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
This is the promise of eternal life. Those who experience Christ personally and then live an exchanged life as described here in these verses, will be rewarded with eternal life.
Commitment
Commitment
