KEY THOUGHT:

“We must be WILLING to endure PERSECUTION while REJOICING knowing our REWARDS will be GREATER!”

INTRODUCTION...

—> SUMMARY of BEATITUDES:
1. Poor in Spirit
2. Mourning Sin
3. Meek
4. Hunger and Thirsting for Righteousness
5. Merciful
6. Pure in Heart
7. Peacemakers
(leads to) Persecuted

—> FOUR LESSONS the BEATITUDES TEACH:
1] All Christians are to be like this, not just some.
2] All Christians are meant to manifest all of these characteristics, not just some.
3] None of these characteristics refers to one's natural tendencies; they are all produced by the Holy Spirit in the Christian.
4] These characteristics indicate clearly the essential difference between the Christian and the non-Christian.

—> John MacArthur Quote:
“All of the virtues that we’ve seen in this context, all of them summed up, are intolerable to an evil world. The world can’t really handle somebody who’s poor in spirit because the world lives in a state of pride, in a state of self-promotion…The world can’t tolerate somebody who is mourning over sinfulness. The world wants to bypass sin altogether and continue to convince itself that it’s all right. The world can’t tolerate meekness; it honors pride, and the world can’t tolerate somebody who knows he’s nothing and seeks something that can only be given as a gift. The world says that we have the right to everything because we’ve earned it. The world knows little about mercy, the world knows nothing about purity, and the world has never learned how to make peace. And all of these characteristics, when they exist in the believer, as they progressively bloom within his or her life, counter the system flagrantly. Flagrantly. And that’s the way it is going to be if you live out the Beatitudes…If you’re going to become a Christian, then God is calling you to live a life contrary to the system of the world and there will be a price to pay.”

MT 5:10-12
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others 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 so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

THIS LAST ONE IS A RESULT OF WHAT HAPPENS AS WE LIVE OUT THE OTHER 7 BEATITUDES:
1. We should expect PERSECUTION
2. We should be WILLING to endure persecution while REJOICING
3. We are promised GOD’S KINGDOM and REWARDS IN HEAVEN [vs 3 and vs 10 both end with this promise]

1. WE SHOULD EXPECT PERSECUTION...
[not because of your own wickedness, but because of God’s righteousness]

--Blessed are the harassed; happy are the harassed.
JN 15:20-21…
20 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. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. ||

Philippians 1:27-29...
“27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake…”

-- Expect to be persecuted because of Jesus and his righteousness (shining through us) for ‘being’ and ‘doing’ right
- RIGHTEOUSNESS is rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men.
- The reason we are persecuted…people love the darkness rather than the light)

JN 3:19-20
“19 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. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

- What does Jesus say light does to the deeds of men who love darkness? His light in you and through you will expose the evil nature of their deeds! When His "righteousness" lights up your life...look out!..you will be persecuted by the "light haters”.

- What will that look like?
A. They will “PERSECUTE YOU”
- possible physical attack…MT 5:10…see that in the lives of the disciples, early christians, and modern day christians || maybe you have never been physically assaulted because of your faith, but it absolutely is possible and happens in our world everyday ...read VOM stories

B. They will “REVILE YOU”
- Saying vicious, mocking things to your face…MT 5:11…it means to abuse somebody with vile, vicious, mocking words.
- So we not only are going to be chased out of the groups we used to be in, we’ll be ostracized from the activities that we used to be a part of. Not only that, there are going to be people who are going to speak evil of us, they’re going to say things about us, they’re going to use unkind words when our name comes up.

C. They will “UTTER ALL KINDS OF EVIL AGAINST YOU FALSELY”
- MT 5:11…tell lies about you, slander you, destroy your character
He says, “And by the way, if you want to live this way, you will be persecuted and chased out of your jobs, your homes, your society. You will find yourself reviled; that is, people will speak vilely and viciously against you, and you will find inevitably that they will say things about you that are not true, they are lies. So get ready for that. That’s right. It’s going to happen. It’s inevitable.”

2. WE SHOULD BE WILLING TO ENDURE PERSECUTION WHILE REJOICING!


-- BE WILLING TO ENDURE PERSECUTION
We need a right attitude…a willingness to be persecuted. The Greek tense indicates a permissiveness. Those who allow themselves to be persecuted.
- “I will never flee it. I will face it, to live the principles of Jesus and be a disciple.”
- I guess this is where some of us bail out, isn’t it?We’re not willing.

2 COR 12:10
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 TIM 3:12-15
“12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

-- REJOICE!
What should be our posture? What should be our attitude if this is true? VS 12. “Rejoice.” Really? “Rejoice?” Rejoice when they're shooting the arrows in you. Rejoice while your friends are screaming venomously at you. Rejoice while they’re whispering behind your back. Rejoice while they’re undermining you. YES, REJOICE!

- "12 Rejoice and be glad..."

- "REJOICE"...(gk) χαίρω (khah'-ee-ro) It means “BE glad, BE really glad.” And then if that isn't enough, He has to add this:
- "BE GLAD"...(gk) ἀγαλλιᾶσθε “(ag-al-lee-ah'-o)”. “Be exceedingly glad, rejoice greatly” It literally means “jump and skip and shout for joy.”

- So Jesus is saying, “when you are persecuted (in all of its forms) because of me, because of righteousness, because you are living a holy life, be really really glad, exceedingly glad, rejoicing greatly, jumping around and skipping and shouting for joy!”…

James 1:2-4
"2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Why should we respond like this? Because…

3. WE ARE PROMISED GOD'S KINGDOM AND REWARDS IN HEAVEN...

Here Jesus is explaining the good news to all who suffer for the Good News!

Vs 10“…for theirs [PLURAL] is the kingdom of heaven.” [Vs 3 says the same thing, beatitudes start and end with this promise…]

Vs 12 “…Great isyour reward in heaven.”

“IS”…(present tense) this is our continual possession, now and in the future!

REV 12:15-18
“15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”


--- guys. This life, our possessions and stuff, this isn’t it, THERE IS MORE! There is a future home, a future eternal life that God is going to reward us with that is going to blow our minds! It is the hope we have as we endure difficulties and hardships that come because we are striving to be holy here. We can’t even begin to fathom it because we have no point of reference. But it should be a major motivator as we live out our lives here.

1 Peter 5:6-11
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Action Steps…

1. Don’t be surprised by persecution in all of it’s forms. As we live obedient lives, following Jesus, striving for His holiness, the world will kick back against that and we will be the recipients of persecution

2. Be willing to endure persecution (we are blessed in that we don’t experience the worst of it in our country, but it will prob come at some point) || physical abuse, verbal abuse, slander, character assassination.

3. Actually rejoice when you are persecuted in those ways || “when you are persecuted be really really glad, exceedingly glad, rejoicing greatly, jumping around and skipping and shouting for joy!”