Everybody treats me bad

Everybody treats me bad!

Matt 5:10-12

Everyone wants to be liked. Some of us have a really hard time when we think or feel that someone disapproves of us, or that we are not liked for some reason.

Hear in verse 10-12, Jesus Christ states, that (happy) are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

This seems ironic that happiness will come because of persecution!

This final beatitude is paradoxical.

To be happy because of persecution! We usually have a hard time with this statement. How can, our Lord tell us to be happy about persecution?

Persecution requires suffering. How can anyone be happy about suffering? How can suffering produce happiness?

1. Suffering produces self examination. Hard times usually cause us to begin to check our hearts and motives. Injustices and accusations against us will cause us to self-examine our lives to see why that person believes such and such.

a. Self examination causes us to discover things that need changed in our lives.

b. The self discovery if applied will produce change, which should, if applied make us better and happier.

c. If we live out the other preceding beatitudes, then our lives of holiness, seeking first the kingdom and pure motives will produce a light that will agitate those around us when it exposes the darkness in their own lives. So much of the time this is where the persecution comes from.

Is our persecution because of righteousness?

Happiness will only be produced by those who are persecuted because of (righteousness) sake.

Righteousness doing thing the way God would do them.
Most persecution comes form our own stupid ideas and choices not because we were doing things God’s way.
If you lose your relationships and other things because you decided to do things “God’s Way” then you should be happy, Jesus said, you would be blessed because of it.
Huge check up! Are we really doing it God’s way? Or are we just looking for an excuse because we don’t like how they treat us. Remember this last attitude comes after all the others, where we were hungry and thirsty after righteousness, we had pure motives and we sought to live lives of holiness. Then happy are we if we are persecuted!

Happy are you if people say all kinds of false things about you because of (my name sake).

The power of the name of Christ.
The authority in the name of Christ.
Is the accusations and lies coming because of something we did in the “name of Christ”. Is it because we identify with Him?
Notice Jesus said they bring about false accusations. When people accuse us, we must search our hearts to see if there is any element of truth of how we behaved or acted.

Jesus said that the kingdom would be ours, if we have endured persecution, in other words “the life and favor of the kingdom” will be evident in our lives.

Job’s dilemma

Job 42:1-6

Deut. 8:2-6

George Bernard Shaw said that the finest compliment the world can pay any author is to burn his books, thus showing that his books are so dynamic and explosive as to be considered intolerable. And the finest compliment that can be paid to Christians is persecution because of righteousness, for then they have been identified with God’s choicest people.

In conclusion here in chapter 5, we have seen what kind of attitude is expected to walk in the kingdom of heaven here on the earth. This kind of attitude in “God’s people” will produce His kingdom on the earth.

It’s when our lives reflect this kind of kingdom, then we are truly the “light of the world, a city set on a hill”, we are truly the “salt of the earth”.

We need to quite complaining about every little thing that goes wrong in our life. Every little test, trial and little bit of suffering we may face, and realize that if it’s persecution because of our on choices and etc. Then do self examinations and change what needs to change. But if it’s because we are living and walking in Kingdom principles then we can rejoice that God is advancing His kingdom through our lives.