Endurance - The Eighth Step To Happiness
We have been making our way through a section of scripture know as the beatitudes. The beatitudes are found in Matthew chapter five. Each of the beatitudes begins with the word Blessed. The word blessed in this section of scripture could also be translated - happy - so as we have been making our way down through the beatitudes – we are finding steps to happiness. Follow along with me as I read from Gods word:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:3-12 (NKJV)
What we find in the beatitudes are nine attitudes that faithful followers need to display. Today we are focusing in on verse ten:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 (NKJV)
What this verse tells me is:
We need an attitude of ENDURANCE.
Folks I have lived long enough in this world to know that whatever you do - you will be criticized. Even if you do nothing – you will be criticized. I don’t know about you – but I would rather be criticized for doing the right thing than for doing the wrong thing. I would rather be persecuted for doing the right thing than doing the wrong thing. I would rather be called a fool for following God – then to be called a wise man for following the devil.
Franklin Graham tells the following story:
Sámi Dagher had been a maitre’d at the world famous Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut before Lebanon’s terrible civil war. Just before the war broke out he left the hotel to plant a small church in one of the poorest areas of the city. When he approached the hotel manager to inform him that he was resigning, the following dialog occurred:
"God has called me to preach," Sámi told the manager. "I’m leaving the hotel."
"Leaving? You’re a fool! You’re crazy! A man in your position making good money, and you quit?"
"I leave for something more important than money. I’m going to preach the name of Jesus Christ."
"You’re going to give up this good position to preach for some god? You must be crazy. No! I’ll tell you the right thing to do. You stay here and make money, Sámi. I need you."
"No, I can’t stay any longer. I’ve prayed and this is what I must do."
Then the hotel manager grew angry and shouted, "I curse you! One day, Sámi Dagher, you will come to the threshold of my door, and you will beg for a crust of bread, and I won’t give it to you. I will let you starve! Do you hear my words? Not a crust!"
Quite sometime later, during some of the heaviest fighting, Sámi heard a knock at his door. It was late at night, so Sámi told his wife and children to stay in bed. He answered the door himself. When he opened the door, the hotel manager stood before him.
"I couldn’t sleep," the man said. "I wanted to see how you are doing and talk."
Sámi made coffee and they discussed the old days they enjoyed at the Phoenicia. Sámi sensed the man had come for another reason, but the man wouldn’t say. Finally Sámi said, "My friend, it is late. Why have you come to me?"
"Oh, nothing, Sámi. I just wanted to talk of old times."
The man walked to the door and opened it. As he stood in the doorway with his head hung low, he turned to Sámi and said, "I have no food. I have not eaten for two days. Do you have anything you could spare?" Sami of course gave him something to eat.
He is no fool who follows God – even if he is criticized.
In this beatitude – verse ten – Jesus is telling us that persecution will come. Therefore, we MUST have an attitude of endurance. The King James Bible would call it longsuffering. Some other translations speak of this quality as patience. Paul lists this attitude among the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter five:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
Go ahead and circle the word longsuffering. Longsuffering – means just that – suffering long. It is important to have this attitude – this quality – at times of criticism. It is important to have this attitude at times of persecution. It is important to have this attitude at times of harassment.
Here is a fact: If you are serious about following Christ – you will be criticized. If you are a faithful follower of Christ – you will be persecuted. If you practice what the Bible teaches – you will be harassed. Harassment will come. How you handle harassment matters. You have heard me say it before and let me say it again:
God is more concerned with your CHARACTER than He is with your COMFORT.
Look at what Paul says to the Christians at Ephesus – how they are to live out their Christian faith:
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV)
Folks Jesus doesn’t ponder whether or not you will be persecuted. He doesn’t consider whether or not you will be criticized. He doesn’t hassle over the fact that you will be harassed - if you are faithful to Him - He knows you will. He says we must endure under pressure – we must endure under persecution - we must hold tight when harassed. Jesus says:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 (NKJV)
When sticks and stones are being thrown at you – you need to stick it out. You need to endure! You need an attitude of endurance. Today I want to give you four positive steps for handling harassment.
The first step is:
1. Recognize the SOURCE.
Ephesians chapter six verse twelve says:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
Folks, God and Satan are enemies. God is the enemy of the devil. The devil does not want God to win. He will use any and every means to attack God. If your enemy can’t get to you – he’ll attack your children. He’ll attack your family. He’ll attack your friends. He’ll attack anything you care about. Because he knows that if he hurts the ones you love – he’ll be hurting you.
The devil – Satan – can’t get God – so he does the next best thing – he attacks God’s family. He attacks God’s children. In Revelation chapter twelve verse ten Satan is called, “The accuser of our brothers.” He is at war with God and if he can’t harass God – he’ll attack God’s family. When you are under attack – recognize the source.
Step two:
2. Refuse to RETALIATE.
In Romans chapter twelve we find:
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:17-19 (HCSB)
Did you know that in the Bible – Jesus was accused of being a drunk? Did you know that He was accused of being a glutton? In other words – He was accused of being a party animal. Do you know that He refused to retaliate? He could have pointed out every sin of every accuser – but He didn’t. He left room for God. You know what that’s called? It’s called trust! It’s called – Faith! He put his trust in God - He had faith that God would take care of the situation.
When you’re persecuted – when you’re harassed – when people treat you mean because your a Christian – you need to believe that God is big enough to take care of it someday. We need to trust and have faith that God is our protection. That He is our fortress. That He is our shield. That’s why this verse says, “Leave room for God’s wrath.” He is big enough and we need to trust Him. We need to have enough faith in God so that we don’t repay “evil for evil”. We need to have enough faith in God that we don’t need to avenge ourselves. I need to trust Him - you need to trust Him. Put your trust in God so that whatever comes your way – you know that He will handle it. Refuse to retaliate – leave it for God to take care of.
The third step in handling harassment is:
3. Respond POSITIVELY.
A minute ago we looked at Romans chapter twelve verses seventeen thru nineteen. Just a few verses later the Bible says:
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 (NKJV)
When evil attacks us – we are to respond with good.
Is it normal for you to return good when someone is attacking you? Is it normal for you to bless a person who is cursing you? No! It’s not normal for me either. But that is what the Bible tells us to do – return good for evil. But let me say this:
If you’re always trying to get even you will never get AHEAD.
When someone starts teasing you – when someone starts taunting you – and you retaliate – who is in control? They are! They are pushing your buttons and you respond in a negitive way - you become their puppet. They could be looking for a fight and you have played right into their game. How many of you have said to someone, "You make me mad!" Do you know what you are telling that person? You’re telling them - they have control of your emotions. Here is what Jesus tells us to do:
“Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)
Is it easy? No! Unusual? Yes! Is it what God wants you to do? Yes! Is it what God expects you to do? Yes! Jesus says, “Don’t react – respond in love.” When people put you down – build them up. When people hassle you – be nice to them. Folks in life there are many things you can not control – but you can control how you respond to evil. Respond with something that is good. Respond in love – and God will smile on you.
Step four:
4. Rest in God’s PROTECTION.
Psalm thirty seven says:
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.” Psalms 37:7-9 (NKJV)
It’s an interesting fact that this psalm is written by David. Why do I say this – because if you’ll remember the story of David it is a story of persecution and harassment? Do you remember what happened between King Saul and David? David as you remember killed a giant called Goliath. That event impressed everyone. Everyone everywhere started singing the praises of David. Everyone except for Saul. Saul got jealous – Saul got envious – evil thoughts entered Saul’s mind. Evil thoughts entered Saul’s heart. Saul started looking at David as an enemy. As time passed the envy and jealousy in Saul grew – in fact it grew to the point where it became hatred. Saul was so jealous of David that he threw a spear at David and hoped to “pin him to the wall”. (1 Samuel 18:11) David had to run. David had to hide. You talk about harassment – you talk about persecution. David knew persecution. David knew harassment and yet he could write:
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…”Psalms 37:7 (NKJV)
Let me ask you today – where are you at today? Are you being persecuted? Are you being harassed? God knows it – He sees it – and He cares and He is concerned about how you handle harassment. God is more concerned about your character than He is about your comfort. You see God is in the character building business. He wants you to be successful. He wants you to overcome evil with good.
How do you deal with harassment? When harassment comes do you recognize the source? Do you refuse to retaliate? Do you respond in a positive way – a way that God would be pleased with? Do you rest in the Lord and have faith in His protection? If you do – God smiles. Remember:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 (NKJV)
