Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / The Sermon On The Mount

Raising The Bar With Rejoicing 07/01/07

Sermon Series: Raising the bar: Living above mediocrity

Message: ‘Raising the bar with rejoicing’  Text: Matthew 5:10-12

 

Introduction:

ILL: The story is told in the early days of the church, a Christian offended the king and was threatened with banishment because of his preaching. He replied, ‘Sire, you cannot banish me, for the world is my Father’s house.’ The king then said he would confiscate all his possessions. The Christian answered ‘Sire, you cannot confiscate my possessions because my treasures are laid up in heaven.’ The king was starting to get furious and told him that he would make him live in isolation away from all his friends. ‘The Christian stated ‘Sire, you cannot remove me from my greatest friend, because he lives within me.’ Finally the king shouted, ‘Then I’ll have you killed!’ To which the Christian calmly replied ‘You can take my breath, but you cannot take my life for it is hid with God in Christ.’ (Coy Wylie)

 

I understand that this story is true. And it shows the confident assurance this Christian had; that his life in Christ was greater than anything anyone could give…or take away from him.

 

It also shows that like this Christian, we too will be persecuted for our faith in Jesus Christ. How do I know?

 

Read: Paul, writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12 says  ‘In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’

 

OK, I wasn’t entirely accurate. If you don’t want to be persecuted for your faith there is a way out…don’t live a godly life. Unfortunately for the Kingdom, too many Christians have made this choice.

 

Transition: Open your Bibles to Matt. 5:10 (pg. 739 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) For it’s here that we will find that we raise the bar of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives with rejoicing.

 

Read: Matthew 5:10-12

 

I. Persecution: What does it do?

This is a rather shocking statement…don’t you think? Rejoice when persecuted. And make no mistake, Jesus is talking about the kind of persecution that often leads to death. The question can be asked, is there any good that can come from persecution? Let me list a few benefits so you might be encouraged to stand firm in your faith no matter what may come.

 

1. Persecution promotes spiritual growth. It cultivates maturity.

 

Read: The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:10 ‘And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.’

 

2. Persecution causes dependence upon God. The Apostle Paul didn’t seek persecution but through it he realized when he was unable to do something God required of him…God was able to do it thorough him.

 

Read: Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 ‘That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’

 

3. Persecution reveals our relationship with God.

 

Read: Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:16 ‘However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.’

4. Persecution nurtures righteousness. Sometimes, God allows suffering and persecution to come into our lives to develop god-like character.       

 

Read: Paul in Romans 5:3-4 writes ‘Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’

 

5. Persecution displays loyalty. Many Christians deny Jesus by their silence when they have the chance to stand up for him and be counted. Persecution offers the opportunity to show our loyalty to Jesus.

 

Read: Paul, writing to Titus in Titus 1:16a said ‘They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.’

 

Read: And to the church in Colosse Paul writes ‘And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.’ Colossians 4:3-4

 

 

 

 

6. Persecution promises reward.

 

Read: Romans 8:18 ‘I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.’

 

Read: 1 Corinthians 2:9 ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.’

 

Read: 1 Corinthians 4:17 ‘For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.’

 

WOW!

·       Those who suffer persecution for the cause of Christ,

·       Those who minister and serve others even when they go through pain, rejection and hurt,

·       Those who know the pain of being talked about, ridiculed and slandered but keep on praying for people who treat them badly.

·       They will be rewarded in heaven.

 

Let’s get the big picture here. The owner of the cattle on a thousand hills, the God who has all things in abundance, says that our reward will be GREAT…not nice, not ample, not sufficient…

 

GREAT, coming from the One True and Ever Living God that’s an unimaginable amount of goodness.

 

Transition: Great is our reward and many are the benefits to the Christians who is faithful during times of persecution. But why is the Christian persecuted in the first place? 

 

II. Persecution: Why does it happen?

We need to understand that this blessing does not come to every Christian who is persecuted or who suffers. The text says ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.’ Not because they said something stupid or was angry and someone let them have it. They were persecuted because of their righteous beliefs and actions.

 

Righteousness is the key. What is it? Simply put ‘a right relationship with God….lived out before others.’ What does that look like? Let me remind you.

 

·       Blessed are the poor in spirit

·       Blessed are those who mourn

·       Blessed are the meek

·       Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

·       Blessed are the merciful

·       Blessed are the pure in heart

·       Blessed are the peacemakers

 

Do you see it? Jesus has been giving us the description of what righteousness looks like in the life of the Christian. It could be said that to the degree you live out the first 7 beatitudes you will experience the 8th.

 

But that’s all good stuff, why would others persecute us for doing those things?

 

Read: Luke 16:13-15 ‘No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.’

 

Why do others persecute Christians…because they don’t love the things we love and they will fight to keep loving what they love.

 

Christians are persecuted because they’re different than everyone else….and they show it. How do I know? This is what Jesus talks about next in his sermon on the mount…

Read: Matthew 5:13-16

 

So…are you…different than everyone else? Are you showing it by righteous living, displaying the beatitudes to others? Just something to think about.

 

Transition: The Christian’s values, priorities, goals, desires, words and actions should be different than those who don’t know Christ. When they are, they will be persecuted…How? What will persecution look like?

 

III. Persecution: How does it happen?

 

We’ve already spent a couple messages on this topic in the past 6 months so I don’t want to belabor this point. According to the text, persecution takes on three forms.

 

1. Verbal: this includes insults, name calling and ridicule.

 

2. Physical: includes any form of abusive treatment: beating, imprisonment, rape, torture, and death.

 

3. False Accusations: includes saying all kinds of things that are not true either to your face or behind your back.

 

The fact is…if you choose to live for Jesus Christ, to display our Lord’s beatitudes in your life, you will be persecuted. Here’s proof that Jesus never teaches a ‘prosperity gospel’ but a ‘persecution gospel’.

 

·       Jesus never taught that his children will go through life enjoying the best of things,

·       but that they will struggle through life denying self and following him…his path…which was suffering and bringing glory to God.

 

Transition: Christians following Jesus Christ and living out the beatitudes will be persecuted. How should they/we respond when it happens?

 

IV. Persecution: What is our response?

We rejoice! The word actually means ‘to leap for joy.’ We’re glad!..Happy, Thankful. For the persecution itself…not exactly. I have discovered three reasons to rejoice during persecution.

 

1. We rejoice that we were found worthy to be persecuted for Christ’s sake.

 

Read: 2 Thessalonians 1:5-7a ‘All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.’

 

2. We rejoice in persecution because we stand in good company.

·       We’re not the first nor will we be the last to suffer persecution for righteousness. Jesus tells us to remember the prophets who went before us who suffered and brought glory to God.

 

3. We rejoice during persecution because of the Great reward that awaits us in heaven.

·       Faith in God’s Word gives us the confidence to believe and act in such a way that even in persecution, we can rejoice…because we are confident that God will see us through, and that our reward in heaven will be GREAT, more than we can imagine or hope for.

 

Conclusion

 

The beatitudes are not easy to live out and perhaps that’s part of the problem. We’ve made the Christian life way too easy… way to painless. Let me ask a few questions.

 

·       What have you done in the last month that has caused anyone to challenge your faith?

·       When have you risked speaking out for Jesus?

·       How have you defended the cause of Christ?

·       Have you identified yourself as a follower of Christ to someone outside the church?

 

I want to close by bringing home one clear implication from this text.

 

·       Jesus wants us to desire the reward of heaven greater than the reward from the world.

·       Jesus wants our true treasure to be in heaven and not in the things of earth.

·       Jesus wants our hearts set on heaven so that to leave earth is the cause of great rejoicing and gladness.

·       Jesus wants our hearts, primarily in heaven, our hopes primarily in heaven, our longings primarily in heaven our joy primarily in heaven.

 

Only then we can rejoice during persecution.

 

Let’s pray.

 

Lord, help us to live for you, and if necessary die for you, knowing there would be peace in the midst of the struggle and a reward beyond imagination in eternity.