Blessed are the persecuted
Be these attitudes • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Title: Be These attitudes pt8
Text: Matthew 5:10-12; Romans 5:1-5
D.T Persecution produces perseverance
Introduction: Let me ask you a question: Is 90 degrees hot? Perhaps the best answer to this question is “well that depends?” Do they enjoy being warmer or colder? I for one would rather be cold as opposed to hot.The other factor is perspective. If you have a day in April that is 90 degrees there are going to be many people who think it’s hot outside. However, when it’s 90 degrees in August, 90 degrees feels nice. Why? Because of perspective. In April we haven’t experienced many hot days in the year, so when the temperature is 90 degrees it seems really hot. However by the time we get to August we’ve experienced many days in the upper 90’s and 100 degrees, because of this 90 degrees feels cool. Because our perspective has changed. When we have to suffer at the hands of extreme heat, what we consider “hot” changes drastically. Our exposure to heat makes us more resilient to what we consider “hot.” So I want you to take this analogy and put it on the backburner because it’s going to come into play later. Now I would like to focus on our passage of scripture. Today our study in the beatitudes will be coming to a conclusion. (READ Matthew 5:10-12
“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.
There are a few things that make Jesus' last beatitude unique. The first is within the implication of the beatitude. Remember each beatitude shares one common word, that word is blessed. In the Greek this word reads as makarios which means fortunate, blessed, or happy. So basically the text suggests people will be fortunate, happy, and blessed if they endure persecution. If someone is verbally berated because of their faith they are fortunate? If someone is physically harmed because of your faith you are blessed? If you have been placed at a disadvantage you are considered happy?On the surface this doesn’t make sense, as a matter of fact they sound like the opposite of being fortunate, blessed, or happy. So one of the goals of our message today is to show why this beatitude does actually make sense. The second thing which makes this beatitude unique are the stipulations. Thus far all the beatitudes have been fairly straightforward, until you get to this last one, this last beatitude is conditional.
The conditional beatitude The first unique quality I want to focus on is the conditional nature of this beatitude. This beatitude says those who are persecuted are given into the kingdom of heaven, however there is a stipulation and condition. Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So why is this situation about righteousness included? Why is this condition mentioned?
Mark Moore in his commentary on the life of Christ points out this condition and stipulation states that Christians are not blessed for persecution caused by stupidity, or abrasiveness. Basically your persecution will not be blessed if that persecution is caused by you being a jerk. In order for a person to be blessed for enduring persecution is if this persecution is caused by observing the righteousness of Jesus.
ILLUSTRATION: Covid-19 prophets
These men are using this crisis for self gain. When these people are ridiculed, judged and reviled for their actions. They are NOT enduring persecution in the name of Christ. What they will be enduring is not a persecution of any sort, no they will be enduring judgment. This judgment will be well deserved.
Those who suffer persecution for the sake of Jesus' righteousness will be blessed. Those who are persecuted for being poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers will be the ones who are blessed in the midst of their suffering.
Persecution produces perseverance Now I would like to address why Jesus said those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness are considered lucky, happy, and blessed. The answer to this question lies in Romans 5:1-15, and James 1:2-4
Read Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Read James 1:2-4
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.
Both of these texts testify to the same truth. Our faith is made stronger in the midst of adversity. When people revile us from our faith, our faith is made stronger. When people judge us for our faith, our faith is galvanized and strengthened. When we find ourselves at a disadvantage because of our belief in Jesus, our commitment to Jesus is confirmed.
This is displayed in the actions of the disciples
While Jesus was on the earth, they frequently missed the point and struggled to be faithful
After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended, the disciples would become more and more bold
Look at Peter specifically. In Acts chapter 2 he begins preaching boldly in the midst of the Pharisees who would like to kill him. The Peter we see in Acts is very different from the Peter we see at the day of the cross. Why?
He knew the truth
The persecution he received because of that truth produced perseverance
Also keep this in mind, just because the persecution we are enduring rarely results in physical harm, it doesn’t mean it’s not a type of persecution (Story about minister in closed country and western nation)
Persecution produces perseverance. According to James perseverance leads to a faith that is mature and not lacking anything. Hence the reason why those who are persecuted for righteousness sake are blessed, fortunate, or happy.
Go back to the story in the beginning. I talked about the difference between a 90 degree day in April as opposed to August. The 90 degree day in August will seem less hot because of our exposure to multiple days in the upper 90’s and 100 degree temps. Our faith works in a way that is similar. The amount of perseverance our faith can yield depends upon our exposure to adversity. That’s why those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed. This is why persecution produces perseverance