HAPPY ARE THE PERSECUTED

Happy Are The Persecuted

Matthew 5:1-12

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

For the past eight weeks, we have been slowly working our way through Jesus’ great teaching from the mountain called the “Beatitudes.” We have been in pursuit of happiness and we have learned: “Happy are the Humble,” “Happy are Sad,” “Happy are the Meek,” “Happy are the Hungry,” “Happy are the Merciful,” “Happy are the Holy,” and “Happy are the Peacemakers.” Today we come to the final paradox: “Happy are the Persecuted.”

When in your life have you been happy to be persecuted? Of all the Beatitudes, this one seems the most contrary—be happy you’re harassed?

Before we turn to God’s Living Word, let us come to the throne of the Living God in a moment of prayer. “God of all grace and truth, hold us close during our times of trials and persecution. Remind us of that our real treasure lies with you in heaven. Let us stand on Your words of truth and love. Amen”

Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes NIV

1. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.[i]

Matthew 5:10-12 The Message Bible

“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even! — for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.[ii]

Eugene Peterson wrote a book called, “Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places.” In this book he has a powerful statement about the persecution Christianity has had to endure. “Eighteen hundred years or so of Hebrew history, capped by a full exposition in Jesus Christ, tell us that God's revelation of himself is rejected far more often than it is accepted, is dismissed by far more people than embrace it, and has been either attacked or ignored by every major culture or civilization in which it has given its witness: magnificent Egypt, fierce Assyria, beautiful Babylon, artistic Greece, political Rome, Enlightenment France, Nazi Germany, Renaissance Italy, Marxist Russia, Maoist China, and pursuit-of-happiness America. The community of God's people has survived in all of these cultures and civilizations but always as a minority, always marginal to the mainstream, never statistically significant.”[iii]

I believe the climax of the Beatitudes is found here in verses ten through twelve. The sobering truth is that all who faithfully follow or try to live a life of the first seven Beatitudes will be guaranteed to experience the eighth. The reality is that those who live righteously will be persecuted. Holiness, Godliness or Righteousness will generate hostility, antagonism and persecution. What Jesus is saying is that to live a Kingdom life will mean rejection.

In the final Beatitude, Jesus is telling us, “Happy are the harassed, the persecuted and rejected because of my righteousness.” The Good News is:

V Persecution is a given

V Purification is a gift

V Promised is: God is with us

PERSECUTION IS A GIVEN!

Persecution is a given. The night Jesus was betrayed, He gathered the disciples together and taught them. In John 15:18-19, Jesus said, If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

I think of Peter sitting at the feet of Jesus the day Jesus taught on the Beatitudes. Maybe that is why He wrote in his first letter to the church these words, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” (I Peter 4:12-14)

In his letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul warned the church with these words, “…so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. (1 Thessalonians 1:3-4)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness (right living), 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.”

The Greek word for “when” (hotan) conveys the idea of at some point in time all Christians can, and should, expect persecution because of their right living. Every faithful believer will have some resistance and ridicule from the world, while others, for God’s own purposes, will endure extreme suffering.

This doesn’t mean we seek out persecution, but neither should we be surprised when it comes. In fact, while we can’t verify all the facts, church history and tradition tell us that the disciples fared no better than their leader. In Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs” we are told all the disciples, but John, gave their lives for Christ:

V James was beheaded. It is said that on his way to be martyred, his accuser was so impressed by his courage and conviction that he repented of his sin, committed himself to Christ, and was beheaded along with James.

V Phillip was scourged, thrown into prison, and then crucified.

V Matthew was slain with a sword.

V James the Lesser was stoned to death.

V Matthias was stoned and beheaded.

V Peter was crucified upside down at his own request because he didn’t feel worthy enough to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord.

V Andrew, Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot were crucified. Andrew was left hanging on the cross for (3) days.

V Bartholomew was beaten with clubs, filleted alive, and crucified.

V Thomas was speared to death.

V John was exiled to an island called Patmos where he died as a prisoner.

Jesus never taught a “prosperity gospel,” but rather a “persecution gospel.” He didn’t teach that following Him was going to be a picnic, easy street, or a religion of convenience and comfort; He taught that in order to follow Him, we will have to deny ourselves and take up our cross. The cross was an instrument of torture and persecution. In “The Cost of Discipleship.” Dietrich Bonhoffer started his book with this statement: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him to come and die.” Bonhoeffer gave his life to stop Hitler. The Apostle Paul told his young protégé, Timothy, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (II Timothy 3:12)

Point 1: Persecution is a given! Not a real popular point but it does explain a lot of things that we face and endure.

PURIFICATION IS A GIFT!

The word “persecute” means “to afflict or harass constantly so as to injure or distress; oppress cruelly, for reasons of religion, politics or race.”[iv] Have you ever asked yourself, “Why in the world is this happening to me?” Have you ever struggled through a difficult time? Have you gone through heartache, regret, woe, grief or anguish because of your love for God? Maybe you have struggled within your own family, at work, or in school because you are a Christian.

When I was going through a difficult time in my life, I put in many calls to my Spiritual Director. One day he shared with me a verse from Romans 5. I believe the Apostle Paul wrote these words for me. “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5) I had been called to a church and had my job description written into my contract. I was supposed to develop a second worship service, a contemporary service. On the outside, it was all approved but deep within the congregation were some very angry people who did not want drums or guitars or microphones in the sanctuary…that pretty much rules out our entire worship team here today! It got really ugly at church. So ugly that the leadership team voted to go backwards and cancel the contemporary worship service in order to please those who were so angry. Prior to the vote to go back to how it was before, there were rumors and lies told about me. I was persecuted. All because I was doing my job and doing what I was hired to do…for the glory of God. I waited a year before I changed anything. Within the first three months, the contemporary worship service did just what we had hoped it would do: draw in the neighborhood people from the new housing developments. However, for whatever reasons—the established, more traditional members were not happy. After six months, the leadership voted to stop the new and successful service. I had to quote this verse every day. I had to quote this beatitude all day long. I was really just trying to do what God had called me to do but it wasn’t popular. Forget the world, it wasn’t popular IN THE CHURCH.

What did I learn? I learned that suffering produces endurance --- endurance produces character --- character produces hope and hope does not disappoint! What a powerful promise!

Dr. Billy Graham told a story of a friend of his who went through the Depression in the 1920’s, losing a job, a fortune, a wife, and a home. His friend was a believer in Jesus Christ, and he tenaciously held onto his faith even though he was depressed and cast down by his circumstances. One day in the midst of his depression, he stopped to watch some men doing some stonework on a huge church in the city. One was busy chiseling a triangular piece of stone. “What are you going to do with that?” he asked. The workman stopped and pointed to a little opening up near the top of the spire. “See that little opening up there near the spire?” he said. “I’m shaping this down here, so it will fit in up there.” Billy Graham’s friend said that tears filled his eyes as he walked away from the workman, for it seemed that God had spoken to him personally through the workman telling him that God was shaping him for heaven through his earthly ordeal.[v]

You see, God is shaping us down here so that we fit in up there.

Whatever it is that you suffer, know that God is at work.

*Suffering produces endurance,

*endurance produces character

*character produces hope

*hope does not disappoint

Why? Because God’s love is being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And that’s promise from God’s word. You can stand on this one.

Point 1: Persecution is a given.

Point 2: Purification is a gift! Persecution will purify you. You will have to choose what side you are on. After the leadership voted to go backwards, I was really disappointed, but I knew that the whole situation got through Jesus’ nail-scarred hands. I did a lot of talking with people and a year later, the time was right to bring back the contemporary worship service—at a different time slot. I wasn’t sure it would work but it did. It’s still going 12 years later.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

PROMISED: GOD IS WITH US!

Of the eight Beatitudes, this one has a double blessing. We are told that we are blessed in verse ten and in verse eleven: a double blessing is promised to those who are persecuted because of Christ. That’s not exactly the kind of good news that we are hoping for but it is something to remember when times are tough. Somewhere, in all of this mess of suffering and persecution, is a double blessing!

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of the three, young, Hebrew men named Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah whom the king renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The three of these men were thrown into the fiery furnace. But when the king looked, he did not see three men in the fire, he saw four. The promise for us in this story and in our persecution is that Christ is near us when we are going through our times of trials, persecution, heartache and grief.

When I accepted the call to my last church, I had no idea that it was going to be such a heartache for me. I knew that in the midst of all of the insults and persecution, that God was with me. “Stay the course, Dave. I’m working here even though you can’t see me. I’m in the fiery furnace with you. You are going to be blessed. Stand firm.” What came out of that call was a deeper resolution within my heart and soul to seek God’s righteousness. God had plans for me and for my future, I just couldn’t see it at the time. I resolved the problem in the church. Everyone was happy. Except for me—God called me away and moved me back to California.

Point 1: Persecution is a given.

Point 2: Persecution’s purification is a gift.

Point 3: Persecution’s promise is that God is with us!

SO WHAT?

So what does all this talk about the Beatitudes have to do with us today, some 2,000 years after Christ gave his Sermon on the Mount? We are all broken in different ways and we are all blessed in many ways. We are blessed and broken! It is in our brokenness that Christ is glorified! It is in our brokenness that others see Christ in us. It is in our brokenness that we get an opportunity to become more and more like Christ…in the fire…in the furnace of heartache and grief.

Have you heard of two of my favorite friends? Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer. On October 16, 1555, Ridley and Latimer were burned at the stake for their faith in Christ. They were judged guilty of heresy: they held an opinion contrary to religious doctrine. These two bishops spoke out against Bloody Mary. (They were protestant and Queen Mary was catholic.) They were sentenced to be burned at the stake. Just before the fire was started, Latimer was heard to shout to Ridley, “Be of good cheer, Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day, by God’s grace, light up such a candle in England, as I trust, will never be put out.”[vi]

When we are persecuted, insulted, and/or falsely accused, we are called by Christ “to rejoice and be glad” because our reward is the Kingdom of Heaven. When I was going through that really hard time, my sweet wife wanted to write letters, hold meetings, and give out the WHAT FOR. Her Italian blood was boiling at the seeming unfairness. She wanted to set the record straight. We had many talks about how God was in this and only God was going to defend the truth. If you are going through a hard season, if you are being insulted, or falsely accused, or persecuted…for your faith, I can only offer you what the living word offers:

Stand firm. Do the right thing. And let suffering produce endurance, let endurance produce character, and let your character produce hope, because our hope in Christ will never disappoint us.

I think of the most recent Hurricane, Hurricane Florence. That’s a great visual for what we are going through when we are being persecuted or insulted or falsely accused. You may not see four guys in the fire…but they are there, I can tell you that for sure: God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God’s only Son, Jesus…and YOU. You are going to come out of that furnace a better person. Be of good cheer! Play the man, or woman, and light the candle with God’s grace!

The Seed Christian Fellowship

Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

September 22, 2018

Pastor Dave Peters

[i] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Mt 5:1-12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[ii] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Mt 5:11–12). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

[iii] Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousands Places, Eerdmans, 2005, page 288

[iv] David Guralnik, ed, Webster’s New International Dictionary, Simon and Schuster, 1972

[v] James Montgomery Boice, The Sermon On The Mount, Baker Books, 1972, page 58

[vi] John Foxe, The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1977, page 216