Preparations For Persecution Series

Intro

We have been discussing the final, eighth, beatitude found in Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”i

Last week we addressed two preparations for potential persecution.

First, expect it. It will happen in the believer’s life. It can come in various levels of severity. But it is a fact of life for the followers of Christ. In John 15:20 Jesus told his disciples, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Therefore, persecution should not take us by surprise.ii We should expect it to happen and not be dismayed when we are opposed in that way.

Secondly, we should know the benefits of persecution. Why would an omnipotent, sovereign God allow the world to persecute his people? He allows it because there are benefits that can come to us in no other way. We explored five of those last week:

1. It confirms the authenticity of our faith.

2. It results in rewards in heaven.

3. It can enlarge opportunities for witnessing.

4. It Purifies the Church.

5. It Serves as a Refining Process for Individual Believers.

Knowing those benefits enables to rejoice when experiencing persecution.iii It lifts our eyes above the immediate discomfort to God’s eternal purposes for us.

Today we will process five other preparations for potential persecution. Next week we will conclude the series by using what we have learned as a basis for prayer. We will use the Beatitudes as a template of prayer. That activity reinforces our understanding of the text and is one way to apply these truths to our own lives.

This list of seven preparations for persecution is not exhaustive. More could be said. But these preparations help us embrace a biblical mindset on the matter. And having a scriptural mindset about persecution is foundational to managing it well. The first two we have already explored:

1. Expect Persecution.

2. Know the benefits of persecution. (Now we will consider preparations three through seven.)

3. Know the character of God and his plans for you.

When trials come into your life, Satan will whisper in your ear accusations against God.iv If God really loved you, he would not let this happen. If the Lord were pleased with you as his child, none of this could occur. He has abandoned you. The Accuser will try to get you to question the goodness of God.

He did that to Eve in the Garden. Listen to what he said to Eve when tempting her. Genesis 3:5: “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” God does not have your best interest in mind. If he did, he would not be withholding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from you. The suggestion that God could not be fully trusted weakened her in her hour of temptation. Verse 6 records the result: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.”

Knowing God and the reliability of his character strengthens us to trust him in the hard times. God is good all the time. There is never a moment when he is not good. He reminded Israel in Malachi 3:6, “. . . I am the Lord, I do not change.” A change in your circumstances does not mean that God has changed. A change in your emotional state does not mean God has changed. Jesus is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). His heart of love toward you does not change. He loves us with an everlasting love.v The NLT paraphrases James 1:17 with this declaration: “he never changes or casts shifting shadows.” We must know the immutability of God—a fancy way of saying, “God does not change.” God always has our best interest in mind. He is always seeking our highest good. He is always working all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28). The more we are rooted and grounded in these truths, the better we will fare in times of persecution.

How do we know the character of God and his plans for us?

We know it through revelation in Scripture. In the Bible, God not only declares these truths, but he confirms it through events in other people’s lives. Joseph suffered persecution but God was working all those events together for the ultimate good of Joseph and all of God’s people.vi Daniel was persecuted and thrown in the lion’s den. But God used all that to promote Daniel and to spread the good news of Jehovah.vii