Blessed are those who are persecuted
Upside Down Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted
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What do I want them to know? Blessed are the persecuted
Why? Their’s is the kingdom
What do I want them to do? Be persecuted for righteousness
Why? Your’s is the kingdom
ME/WE
I like to be liked.
I like when others look at me and think good thoughts about me and not bad thoughts.
I like when my neighbors, friends, family members, and people in teh community think good thoughts about me.
Anybody with me? You liked to be liked
You like it when your family members, neighbors, and friends think good thoughts about you.
And you don’t like it when your family members, neighbors, or friends do not like you.
When they say evil things about you.
When they attack you verbally.
When they persecute you.
We like to be liked.
On many levels this is a good thing.
If we look at one of the qualification of an elder it says they are to be thought well of by outsiders.
Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
When those outside the church would look at us they would see someone who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
There is someone who is a lover, joyful, peacemaker, slow to get angry, humble.
The outside world says I don’t believe what they believe but they are sure Godly people. They look like the Christ they follow.
But are we to be liked all the time?
Does God says the goal and command of a Christian, one that lives in the kingdom of God is to be liked all the time?
DO NOT UPSET THE APPLE CART
Do not make anyone mad
Is that what scripture says?
No
We see Jesus talk about the sin and woe involved in being liked all the time in Luke’s version of the Beatitudes he includes 4 woes along with the blessings and one of the woes is
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
What!?!
But Jesus I liked to be liked
I want to be liked by all people
Jesus says WOE to you when all people speak well of you.
Why?
It is a sign that you are living for the kingdom of the world, if you are being liked by all people all the time, if you are not being persecuted…It is a sign that your allegiance, my allegiance to the kingdom of this world.
How is this so?
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Jesus says, “You want to know if you are living for the kingdom of God?” Yes, are you being persecuted? Maybe not everyday but have you been persecuted lately???
How is this verse true??? How is that a measuring stick???
Why? Why would someone persecute me for living a Godly life???
Should I not be more liked by more people for living more like Jesus?
Unfortunately, no…some people will like and others will not.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
Do you see what Jesus says there?
If you are a person of light people are going to hate you, you might not even need to say anything, your Holy life is offensive to those who walk in darkness.
You are going to have enemies, in reality when you become a Christians you lose one enemy and gain 3.
Before you were a Christian, a Saint, …You had one enemy and who was the enemy? God
But now that you are a Saint you have 3 enemies; the world, the flesh, the Devil.
This is why if the all people think well of you it is because you have enemies of the world who are enemies of the cross.
James says it more plainly
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
If you are going to be friends with the world you are going to be persecuted.
We see that now
You can be a friend of the world by saying Abortion is ok, but now your enemy of God.
And an enemy of some deceived Christians (who want to be to liked by all people) who now say it is not murder.
You can be a friend of the world and say you can be any gender you want, but now you are an enemy of God.
You can be a friend of the world and deceived in sin Christians and say all marriages go, but now you are an enemy of God.
He is the TRUTH.
“If you stand for Jesus and righteousness” you will be persecuted.
Either by the hand or mouth
We see this over and over in scripture of the people who are in the Hall of Faith.
We see this happen in the first sibling rivalary of Cain and Abel over Abel living righteously and Cain did not…so Cain killed his brother
Joseph was persecuted by his brothers (family)
Moses was persecuted by Pharaoh
David was persecuted by Saul (someone who is suppose to and Goliath
The prophets Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel were persecuted for righteousness. Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s Den
Paul was persecuted for believing and preaching about Jesus
10 of the 12 disciples were martyred, killed, persecuted for their faith in Jesus
right now over 100,000 Christians are martyred every year for Jesus, that’s one every 5 minutes.
Jesus was persecuted.
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. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
you will be persecuted standing up for Jesus
The reason why is because Persecution is one of the greatest tactics of the enemy. Nobody on surface level likes to be persecuted.
Then The enemy says you know how this persecution stops???
HOW???....deny Jesus, live and unGodly life
Take the LORD’S name in vain....
Taking the LORD’S NAME in vain is not saying OMG…it is not living for the LORD....how so? When you become a believer God’s name is written upon you that says you are apart of God’s family not the kingdom of this world’s family. Therefore, when you do not follow the ways of God you are taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Our enemies say, it can stop, just deny the name, by words and your actions.....
But do you know what you get when you do that? Something far worse. It’s a beautifully package, package of Death, destruction, and chaos.
- John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
is that you want? or I want? NO
Here’s also the Good News
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Blessed are you when you are persecuted.
Blessed when you are persecuted.
Blessed when you are persecuted.
Persecuted for what?
Your political persuasion
For being arrogant or rude…some Christians say I am being persecuted for Jesus, no you are being persecuted because your a not gentle but you’re a jerk.... how you treat others is not how Christ treats you.
No, we blessed when we are persecuted for righteousness.
How are persecuted people blessed?
4 ways.
Persecuted people are blessed because their is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of life, not apart of the kingdom of the world.
One of the things that persecution does is it reveals to us what kingdom we serve and belong to.
Persecuted people are apart of the kingdom
God says this would happen. Let’s read 1 Peter 4:12-18
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
Do see what it says there? PERSECUTION WILL COME TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD
then is says do not be ashamed for you are blessed.
You have stood the trial, God blesses you.
WE see this in our own lives or the lives of others who are so blessed so encouraged by being persecuted.
they share stories of today I stood for Jesus, and I was persecuted. I stood strong and I was rejected.
-One of the people I hear it from on a consistent basis is from Nick and Joanna here who run YFC and the stories they have standing for Jesus in great love and they are persecuted for it.
- they go into the community and share with love who Jesus is and many times they are persecuted They went to Starbucks and people say you are one of those Jesus Freaks, who believe homosexuality is a sin....they are apart of the kingdom of God and they are trying to lead others to Jesus...people lash out at them…and it is not only those outside the church but those inside the church who lash out at them.....the persecute them because they are ministering to those people.. (you will see this backlash comes from those in the church to those who minister to those people…you can minister to those people but do not bring those people to church....I saw this often with youth ministry, we want you have to a growing youth ministry that is amazing, which translates to some people that it has all nice Christians)
Persecution does not just come form the inside but also the outside.
You see this all over the Bible and in our present day, sometimes our biggest persecutors are those inside the church.
People will say who do you think you are? You think you are so Holy and Righteous do something like that.
Our three enemies will use whomever they want to get us to not live on mission.
2. Not only are persecuted people apart of the kingdom but because of persecution they are the ones who experience the fullness of life.
Huh? How? this side of heaven you will at times to get the fullness of life have to face persecution and trials....that fullness of life only happens when we fight for life....
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
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.
The people who truly live and experience the fullness of life are those who remain steadfast under persecution.
Then we read in James that we are blessed by God with the Crown of Life.
4 Crowns
Crowns of righteousness
Crown of Victory
Crown of Glory
With a wreath that is not perishable is by standing firm, staying righteous
Those who have fullness of life, those who are in the kingdom are the ones who are persecuted.
3. Persecution blesses us by growing us.
If we look are our lives and had to put markers and pins on the times our faith grew the most, where would those markers be?
When living for Jesus was easy? Or hard
Hard, when you were in a hostile work environment....When you stepped up and started using your gifts for glory of God.
This is the refiners fire....some of this is brought on by the enemy and some of the times God puts us in a trial.
Some of us really want to grow in our faith, we want to be like Jesus, God says ok, I will put you in a trial.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
We see in Peter the refiners fire
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
For anyone to be all that God has for them you will need to walk through trials and fires of persecution.
some you here today God is saying I want you to be like Jesus and I am having you go through the persecution for you to be more like Jesus the refiners fire.
Church what we are seeing today in the church is it a season where people are group up or flam out in their faith.
One of the things people studies have shown us the pandemic has grown us or shrunk us.
MANY OF US WANT EASY, BUT EASY DOESN’T GROW US
4. Persecution blesses the church by growing the church.
The fourth great encouragement for the church is the church often grows the most, leaps and bounds when the church is thought well of in the a countries eyes or not well?
Not well.
If we look at the church today where is it going like crazy?
Iran
China
In countries where you can be killed for being a Christian.
The early church flourished under immense persecution....10 of the 12 disciples were martyred and many more were, were martyed.
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” Tertullian
Under persecution the church grows, not protection the church has flourish
Why because the believers grow in the refiner’s fire....you have to be true Christian....think about the early church…if you are are Christian you could die....so you could not be a half-hearted Christian…you were not going to say yep I am Christian if you did not really believe it....
How would you respond to a Roman guard who said if you proclaim Christ is Lord and you can die by the sword? What would you do if you were not whole heartedly devoted to God? Nor what would you do in your flesh if you were not a Christian? I am never going to become a Christian....and yet the love of God and the Spirit of God woes them.
We saw this in Sri Lanka, when it was under British rule, Christians had a seat at the political table but the church did not grow.
- Then a militian Hindu group came and persecuted Christians and what happened? The church grew, the nominal and lukewarm Christians faded away, but those who were faithful to God had a new holy vigar about them.
- A lot of are concerned about where our country is going with religious freedom and as our country has laws that antithetical against God....I was to remember
What I see God doing in the church is pruning the church, having the church come back to it’s first love. To return to what we have been called to....
Persecutions blesses by being able to live into the kingdom of God and have life,
It blesses us by growing us
It blesses the church by growing the church
Gosepel... Rejoice the persecution ends
At the cross Jesus put an end to all persecution on the cross, there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more worry
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,
knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
It produced seeds
Are you being persecuted?
Not just those outside the church
We are not seek it out
Why are we blessed?