“Rejoice and Be Glad”

“The Persecuted are Promised a Permanent Position” Part 2

Matt. 5: 10-12 (NIV)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 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.

Introduction: Jesus highlights this final Beatitude which has its ground in the Old Testament, by expanding on it differently than the others. Persecution by the king’s enemies was one of the most significant marks of a kingdom servant. When you are a kingdom servant you will be insulted, persecuted, people will falsely say all kinds of evil against. Nevertheless, Jesus added a variable to blessed are you that you are to rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. He gives hope and courage to those whose righteousness is of such tenacity and brilliance that the enemies of the kingdom desire to permanently shut it down. Persecution may pursue you, but it has not caught you, because His goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life. For the persecuted are promised a permanent position. This is a call for believers to have a profound, unspeakable and exultant joy, even in the face of adversity, suffering and hardship for their faith. Jesus assures his disciples that their suffering will not be in vain, and there is a significant reward that awaits them in eternity that outweighs any earthly suffering. They persecuted the prophets of the Old Testament which were before them who were also faithful to God's message. Historically, there has always been consistent opposition faced by those who stand for truth, justice, and righteousness. Like the prophets Elijah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. How can you rejoice and be glad when we are hated, mocked, tortured, and killed? This is what they did to the prophets. This is what they would do to the disciples. Jesus showed the continuity between the ministry of the prophets and the ministry of the kingdom servant. The prophets of old and new are serving the same cause, advancing the same kingdom, and serving the same king. Jesus promised that both would suffer the same abuse, but that both would also receive indescribable reward in heaven. Both have reason for rejoicing in spite of their temporary circumstances. 2 Cor. 4: 17-18 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. It’s not what I see, but what I will get. Hallelujah! “Rejoice and be glad” when you are persecuted when you suffer. How can Jesus say this? Jesus knows that the reward of heaven will compensate you more than any suffering we must endure in the service of Christ. We are encouraged by this text to endure persecution with joy, knowing that our suffering aligns with God's faithful servants throughout history and promises a great reward in heaven. Let me lift up two examples. John Rogers a catholic priest was burned alive in 1555 because of his faith in Christ. His children accompanied him to the place of execution and called out encouragements to him through their tears that he might be strong and not turn back and dishonor Christ. At the stake, Rogers was offered a pardon if only he would recant his beliefs and return to the Catholic church. He refused. The fire was lit, and Rogers washed his hands in the flames as though he did not feel them. Persecuted. The famous Dietrich Bonhoeffer a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who actively challenged and opposed authoritarianism. He was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. was a movement within German Protestantism in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all of the Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church. He was accused of being associated with the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler.  As he left his prison room on the way to the gallows in 1945, he said to Payne Best, “This is the end—for me the beginning of life.” At the place of execution, he said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, (say that me, that me) for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs (its mines, its mines). The deeper question is why would anyone persecute you for righteousness —being merciful and pure and peaceable by relying on Jesus and living for his glory? The answer is in the root cause for persecution. In Luke 16:14–15. Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Verse 14 says, “The Pharisees, were lovers of money, heard all what Jesus was teaching about serving two masters, here comes the persecution, the mockery.” Jesus’ attitude toward money is an attack on their love of money. Verse 15: “But he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men.’” So here is the root cause of persecution. One reason is the love of something evil or untrue and the need to justify that love. Jesus’ message implies that the love of money is betrayal against God. 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Here lies the root of all persecution. Money and greed. A life devoted to righteousness or godliness will be persecuted or insulted or spoken against. If you speak with compassion for the least of these, the poor, the immigrant. If you are spiritually minded, you will expose the worldly-mindedness of those around you. Persecution will come because of righteousness and for the sake of Jesus when you serve those which He is concerned about. Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven.” There is a mystery of joy in the midst of tribulation, the mystery of rejoicing in the midst of agony, the mystery of gladness in the midst of misery and suffering. There is a greater mystery founded in the miracle of faith—compensation for every pain when you believe what Jesus sees in heaven, to that degree you will be able to rejoice and be glad in suffering. Kingdom honor is granted as compensation as a blessing on those who have actively pursued true kingdom righteousness and have been persecuted for it and because of Him. The more your faith is tested through suffering, the greater your reward will be. Rejoice and be glad in the midst of suffering for righteousness and for Jesus because that very suffering will receive a very great compensation and a very great reward. And the greater the suffering your faith endures, the greater the reward you will receive in heaven. Shout glory! Romans 12:12: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." • James 1:12: "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." Matt. 24:9, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” Jesus desire for his disciples to desire the reward of heaven more than they desire the reward of the world. Jesus desire for us to have our treasure in heaven not on earth (6:19–20). His desire for your heart is to be set in heaven that to leave this earth is a cause of rejoicing. Not without tears! —as Paul said, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” There is no other way that you can rejoice and be glad at the loss of your earthly joys when you have loved heaven more. There is value for endurance and the blessings that come from our trials. 1 Peter 5:10: 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. 1 Peter 4: 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 2 Corinthians 12:10: Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Look at the prophets! Look at the ancestors! Whatever you must do to get your heart in heaven and off the desires of the world, be like Nike and just do it! Tell your neighbor to get your heart in heaven “Rejoice and be glad in persecution, for great is your reward in heaven.” People who have their hearts so much in heaven that they fear no man but rejoice in persecution—if God is for us who can be against us - joyfully as the “salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”!!!! Look at our Savior Jesus! But for the joy set before him endured the cross. He was despised and rejected by humankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Rev. 2:10— “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Shout rejoice, rejoice, rejoice and be glad! When I think of how God brought me through, and how the Lord changed my life; my soul, my soul is overwhelmed. I’ve got joy, joy, joy, unspeakable joy. full of glory, pathway bright. full of glory, burdens light; every time I think of the goodness and mercy of the Lord. I’ve got joy, unspeakable joy; I’ve got joy unspeakable. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice and be glad! Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven! The Persecuted are Promised a Permanent Position.