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Introduction

Good morning and welcome to FCC where we worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth, one verse at a time, one Book at a time.

We have come as far as Matthew 5:9, so let us open our Bible’s there:

Read Matthew 5:1-12

Prayer

Lord heavenly Father, we praise for Your Holy Word and we ask that by the Spirit You would saturate our minds with truth and that you we give us nuggets to practically apply into our lives personally and corporately.

We pray Lord, that the truth would be both comforting and afflicting.

If we come complacently, we pray that the truth would afflict us that we might flee to Christ.

If we come distressed and downcast, we pray that the truth would draw us to Him, strengthen and equip us for service.

But we ask above all, O Lord, that as You edify us by Your word that Jesus Christ would be honored and exalted in our lives and in the world.

For we ask these things in JESUS name, that name above all names.

We love You! AMEN!

Review

In looking back we have learned that Jesus is teaching those that are His how to enter His Kingdom, how to live out the Kingdom in our lives, how to be his disciples, and how to be happy in this life.

And if Jesus said blessed are you if you do this or that, why do we seek this blessedness in everything but Jesus?

He laid out for us the beatitudes or the characteristics that mark the lifestyle of those who experience the blessings of the kingdom of God church.

These last few weeks Jesus actually described what the power of God’s kingdom will make us if we follow the prescription that he has laid out.

He has given us everything thing that pertains to life and godliness and it is not by strength, nor by power, but by the Spirit will we achieve these in this life.

The first seven beatitudes describe a kind of life that would be lived by a man or woman who has become a follower of Jesus Christ, and who now lives a life under the gracious gift of righteousness through faith in Him.

And then, we come to the last beatitude that gets our attention.

We see blessed, blessed, and blessed seven times and now we come to the eighth

AND yet is still says blessed, but wait:

How can one be blessed when they are being persecuted, insulted, mocked, and even slandered?

How can this be?

As we look at the remaining beatitude, one might think this actually two, but most scholars believe this is just one.

Note: the word persecuted is mentioned 3 times, therefore, what can we draw from this.

Jesus did not say blessed are the objectionable, or the fanatics, or those who put their head in the sand church!

He said blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake...

This blessing is restricted to those who suffer persecution because of His righteousness, not self-righteousness.

The believers described in this passage church, are determined to live as Jesus lived.

Therefore, they will suffer persecution....

Peter says it like this:

And again Peter reiterates the concept of suffering for Jesus:

Reproached- oneidizō (on-i-did'-zo)-to be harshly criticized v. — to be or become reprimanded for real or merely perceived faults in a harsh and demeaning manner.

To heap insults upon, to cast teeth into, to mock, to provoke...

It is crucial that we see in both Matthew 5:10-12 and here in Peter that the persecution is not because of you, but because of Jesus and his righteousness that is living in you and coming out of you into a world that loves darkness rather than life:

Jesus said this after he said the most used verse in the whole Bible which is John 3:16 that God sent his only begotten Son to die for you and for me:

Persecution is promised church for those that hunger and thirst for righteousness and for those that live like Jesus lived.

There is no way around it!

Did Jesus ever do anything wrong?

Was he persecuted for righteousness sake and yet he was perfect?

How about the prophets of old, like Jesus said, were they persecuted?

How about the apostles that walked with Jesus?

How about the disciples???

Church persecution comes in all shapes and sizes and can take many forms:

Think about countries like communist countries and people are being put to death for righteousness sake.

Or a Christian in the West who practices righteousness may be ridiculed by his family and even ostracized because of the name of Jesus.

Even believers who were raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord will face persecution somewhere.

Perhaps at work, you might discover some of your colleagues are saying he/ she is taking their Christianity too far...

He will not even cheat on his taxes now..

Perhaps your are persecuted in your own home by your spouse or children because you are living your faith out loud and you have all 8 beatitudes operating in your life...

Note the persecution comes for righteousness sake..

You know what this tells me?

If we are not hungering and thirsting for righteousness and the righteousness of Christ Jesus is not living in us and through us, then we will not be persecuted

Church, last weeks beatitude was blessed are the peacemakers, not the peace takers, but we come to the last beatitude and it is teaching us the righteousness is the catalyst for persecution.

Think about this, it is counter intuitive.

You will both make peace and stir up trouble, really???

You hear it from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who said that He came as the Prince of Peace to bring peace and then elsewhere said, “I came not to bring peace but a sword.”There is this constant ambivalence where the believer is, in the world, a peacemaker who is able to make a man at peace with God by the presentation of the Gospel.

But on the other hand, where there are those who will not respond to his peacemaking effort, he is a troublemaker, and invariably brings about persecution.

Church, when you pass into the richness and the fullness of kingdom character, and when you begin to live the way God wants you to live, when you begin to fulfill the principles that God has ordained, you’re going to find there will be a process of pain and suffering involved.

You will be a peacemaker, yes, but you’ll be a troublemaker, too!!!

Are you serious Pastor John?

Really?

Yes, really!

What Became of the Twelve Disciples?

(1) John died of extreme old age.

(2) Judas Iscariot hanged himself.

(3) Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of Nero.

(4) Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian Colony.

(5) James, the younger brother of the Savior, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.

(6) Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanapolis, Armenia.

(7) James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.

(8) Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the east Indies.

(9) Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis (Abyssinia).

(10) Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.

(11) Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).

(Source unknown).

Persecute- diōkō- (dee-o'-ko) v. — to cause to suffer, whether physically or emotionally.

To make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away, to be mistreated, suffer persecution on account of something, to pursue and hunt, to drive away, pass judgement on.

We are persecuted church, not for our sake, but for the sake of righteousness, for the sake of the cross, for Jesus sake...

But the good news when we are persecuted, the good news when people slander us, mock us, spit on us, defile our characters, when they insult us, talk evil about us we have a reward church for enduring this and not losing heart, not giving up and going with the crowd or down the broad way;

Our reward is the Kingdom of Heaven church.

Another words this beatitude is a test for all the beatitudes.

Just as a person must be poor in Spirit to enter the kingdom, so will he be persecuted because of righteousness if he or she is to enter the kingdom.

For this final beatitude becomes one of the most searching of all of them, and it binds up all the rest; for if the disciple of Jesus never experiences any persecution at all, it may be fairly asked where righteousness is being displayed in his life.

If there is no righteousness, no conformity to God’s will, how shall we enter the kingdom?

Church, we live in a sinful world, therefore, if we exhibit genuine, transparent righteousness we will be rejected and persecuted by many.

Genuine righteousness or the light will bring discomfort to those that are not walking in it and thus, they lash out.

We are not persecuted for having right theology, all though I believe theology plays a role in it, but rather for righteousness alone and we cannot and will not have righteousness if we are not seeking after it.

Church, being one of His means that we will suffer for His sake and not for our own.

It is important to close out this section with a couple of thoughts:

Jesus opens with blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and then as he closes out his 8 beatitudes, he says blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We have the kingdom here on earth church, and the one yet to be consummated on that great day weather it is when Jesus returns or we go home...