Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12

August 14 2016

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

Blessed are you when men 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 men persecuted the prophets who were before you.’

….Matthew 5 – the conclusion in our study of the words of Jesus called The Beatitudes.

Ridicule, persecution, evil – oh, yes, Lord….give me some of that! Amen? Amazing, huh.

Just like we learned the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit – those who recognize they’re empty without God – that’s what the poor in spirit is about, just like the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit it also belongs to folks who are persecuted because of who they are in Christ….for righteousness.

The world says, principles are good, ya know, but not if they end up getting you killed or even if they just cause you grief. Righteousness has little foundation in our world today. Sacrifice? Righteousness? Righteousness….what’s that? and who cares? is the world’s attitude….so whatever that is, I’m not going to the matt over that. No way.

The world’s standards for right and wrong don’t define what God desires for our good these days…..way too many are only out to get away with all that they can. And along the way the world would say trampling on others doesn’t matter…and I’m thinking especially trampling on persons of faith expressed in Jesus Christ.

Often doing what is right leads people to feel lonely, isolated and persecuted……doing something right so often goes against the crowd…and ever since you and I were kids we wanted to be accepted by the crowd – our peers. I remember it……if you claimed Jesus as your Lord and Savior around the time of 12 years old, I’ll bet you’ve experienced it too.

So what’s God’s answer to that? God says I will never leave you or forsake you – no matter what – I’ve got your back.

Jesus made it clear to his disciples that persecution is a natural thing. Persecution for the name of Jesus is going to happen….but I’ve got your back.

He said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” it says in John 15:20. And he said that the persecution you endure as he endured is because folks who persecute you don’t know God. “They will treat you this way because of my – Jesus -- name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” That’s God, the Father. ….He who hates me, Jesus said, “well, the bottom line is they hate my Father as well.”

You see, suffering is part and parcel of living in a fallen world…..Small example: Just think of it…..there are as many disabled children in families of faith as in those not in the family of faith…it’s just part of this fallen world….and just because you and your family have chosen to focus on God, that does not guarantee everything is going to go great from here on out…..those who know what I’m talking about would be quick to say, “yea, in reality, it seems like I’ve had nothing but trouble since I gave my life to Jesus.”

So what’s the answer? Forget about God? Go the world’s ways? No loved ones….I pray with all my heart that’s not the answer you would give. So where’s the answer?

The answer is only found in the revelation of God the Holy Spirit within our hearts….despite so much of what society says and especially on world-wide TV even today about claiming your “Olympic gold or bust” your victory, ….suffering is part and parcel of humanity…..not everybody gets the gold….only a very, very small percentage of folks do….and people are weary as a result of the struggles of life today…..and even beyond that there is a suffering that is part and parcel of Christianity as well…..

But remember this –Suffering for your stand for God? You won’t ultimately be harmed, but God says even if you do suffer for what is right – righteousness ------Recorded in Matthew 10 Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Every day if you are being true to your calling in Christ you’ll bear the marks of what it is to follow Jesus ……businessmen are snubbed…ladies are not necessarily as welcome as they might have once been before professing faith in Christ…..when they used the same language and talked about things in the old way….youngsters who have set their hearts firmly on Jesus may not be given the opportunity to play on that team, may not certainly hang out with the same gang at the end of the game….there IS difficulty which attends the narrow way of Jesus Christ.

But…a close but flawed follower of Jesus maybe just like you, just like I have been, - Peter - says there is a blessedness that accompanies even that.

If we’re all about earthly things…..comfort, ease, etc….. then we’re truly vulnerable… because in just a matter of a moment all that can be gone or at least the ability to enjoy it can be gone.

Peter says the believer, who may or may not be blessed in these ways….when his focus is on Jesus…….then all these things may go….but they can say, “that’s ok” - becausethe believer rests secure….”I’m resting secure in Jesus.”

So we can see why a life devoted to righteousness or godliness is very unique in this world.

Let’s look at a few examples I recently came across.

If you cherish chastity, your life will be an attack on people's love for free sex.“Why not free sex” – or homosexual marriages, the world says.
If you embrace temperance, your life will be a statement against the love of alcohol.“I can do whatever I like with my body, regardless of the outcome….or who I hurt along the way.”
If you pursue self-control, your life choices will be against things like eating to excess. Again, the world says, “I can do whatever I like with my body regardless of the outcome.”
If you live simply and happily, you will show the folly of luxury.But yes, those who live only for luxury will attack you as being foolish.
If you walk humbly with your God, you will expose the evil of pride.Remember the old but accurate statement in Proverbs 16:18, “pride goes before the fall.”
If you are punctual and thorough in your dealings with others, you will lay open the inferiority of laziness and negligence. The lazy and negligent will attack you, ridicule you.
If you speak with compassion, folks might take that to be weakness and will find ways to cut you down. You’ll be considered a weakling and may open yourself up to attack.
And a big one to finish……if you are spiritually minded, you will expose the worldly-mindedness of those around you….and they aren’t going to like it…not one bit.

So here are two Responses to a Righteous Life

When you desire to be godly in all your affairs and relationships—when you follow the righteousness of Jesus in his strength and for his glory—there are two possible responses people can have who stay around you. These are described in John 3: 20-21.

“For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. [That is one possible response: hating the light and not accepting it.]

But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been brought about through God. [That is the other possible response: doing the truth and coming to it and freely admitting that all good in us is accomplished by God.]

It’s like this, loved ones….the world says, “For me to live is ……? ? ?

What can you fill in the blank and still make sense of it……For me to live is cars? For me to live is money? Sex, drugs…..

Loved ones, Only the word “Christ” fills in that blank correctly…….Peter said it, “For me to live is Christ, For me to live is Christ….that’s the only way to fill in the blank in righteousness….and he goes on to say, “to die (even to die) is gain.” That’s why for many they just don’t know how to live. And death for the unbeliever and the unbeliever’s family is unbearable. Believe me, I’ve seen it. Gain? No way. They can’t handle it. Sure we all grieve, but we are not a people of no hope. We have the hope of the resurrection in glory to come.

And remember this- through all this struggle about being persecuted now, Jesus promised that he wouldn’t leave us alone drifting, twisting in the wind.

How is that that we not alone? In the middle of our persecutions….we are not alone, praise God.

Deuteronomy 31 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; hewill never leave younor forsake you.”

We have the Holy Spirit of God with us. Those who have claimed the name of Jesus as Savior and Lord have been given the Holy Spirit to fill that God-shaped hole in their heart and the Holy Spirit walks with you and talks with you and tells you that you are his own.

God sent the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort. Besides, God also promises that even though “now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” as recorded in John 16.

Real life thinking friends: Think of a time when you felt like speaking up for what in your heart of hearts you know was right. If you didn’t speak up, what prevented you from doing so? If you did, what resulted from it? What happened? How can you help others who are facing persecution because of righteousness as well? Think about a time of grief. How did you offer support to those around you, especially because I pray they know you are a believer. What did you offer them?

If nothing else I pray loved ones that what you can and will offer them is a word of hope…..hope against all odds. Jesus took our sins in his own body on a tree called Calvary……that sacrifice gives you and gives me hope that no matter how hard it gets on this side of heaven…..heaven awaits – your heavenly home awaits you. God’s heavenly eternity is there for the asking.

In the meantime we are given the opportunity to liveinto our struggles as it says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christand I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.”

With that I’d like to offer my last reading from author Max Lucado in his book based on these beatitudes, “The Applause of Heaven.” I hope you have enjoyed hearing his stories and taking the lessons he offers to heart.

Today he says, “rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward…..”

Pg 185 – Lucado

Remembering that in the end God is making everything new……God through the pen of Matthew and the pen of John challenges us to be overcomers…..for great is our reward in heaven.

One last story.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheranpastor, student of God - theologian, anti- Nazidissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. He lived from 1906 to 1945. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential, and his book, “ The Cost of Discipleship,’became a modern classic.

Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship, including vocal opposition to Hitler's euthanasiaprogram and genocidal persecution of the Jews..Bonhoeffer was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel prison for one and a half years. Later he was transferred to a Nazi concentration camp.

Soon after,his name became associated with the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.Bonhoeffer was quickly tried, along with other accused plotters, including former members of the German Military Intelligence Office. They were all sentenced to death.

As he left his prison room on the way to the gallows on April 9, 1945, he said to a fellow prisoner, Payne Best, a British Secret Intelligence Agent, "This is the end—for me the beginning of life"

Ten years later the camp doctor wrote,

At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds.

The camp doctor said, “In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

Loved ones, I don’t know what the future holds for you or for me for the sake of the Gospel…..but I do know….as the powerful song says((on page 631 of your gold hymnbooks…..))

I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me he hath made known, nor why, unworthy Christ in love redeemed me for his own.

But I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto him against that day.”