The Blessing NO One Wants
CCCAG October 29th, 2017
Scripture- Turn to- Matthew 5:10-12
Most of you know that I was an associate pastor at a medium sized church in Kenosha called Prayer House before moving up here into God’s Country to serve this family of believers here in Whitehall. One of Prayer House’s ministry outreaches was a weekly program shown on Local Cable TV that showed our various ministries and included the sermon from the last week. Once a month, our senior pastor would go and preach at other church’s about prayer so one of us associate pastors got to preach and be on TV.
Depending on who it was and how hard of a message they preached, we would get some very interesting hate mail via the church informational email that as the webmaster I got to read, and even occasionally postal mail. Some of it was pretty vile and profane. Occasionally, they would even be threatening- blow up our houses, beat up our kids, do unmentionable things to our wives.
We even had a person give us a gift- they smeared dog feces all over the back door of the church.
Guess who got to clean that up? “Oh, you’re a paramedic, you don’t get grossed out”
Honestly, this was fairly mild considering what many Christians throughout the world have to face for being a disciple of Jesus the Christ.
It reminds me of a story-There was once a pastor who was trying his hardest to grow his church and win people to Jesus, but at every turn he was criticized, mocked, ridiculed and even spat on in the community he was trying to serve.
He felt so overwhelmed he left his family at home and walked to the church to pray. He wept at the altar and cried out to God, complaining about all of the hardship he had to face, and that it was yielding no fruit and no matter what he did, or how hard he tried it just kept getting worse and worse.
HE presented his case before God expecting God to agree with him and give him permission to move on.
When he finally finished pouring his heart out to God, he heard the still small voice of the Father say this-
“Congratulations, you are blessed.”
Normally, the 5th Sunday of the month is devoted to a prayer service (Solemn Assembly), but given that we are accepted new members into our fellowship today, I felt the Lord leading me to not only accept them into the family of Coulee Community Church, but give them and all of us a charge and a mandate to live by.
So today we are going to finish our series on the beautiful attitudes of Jesus by talking about the Blessing NO One Wants.
Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Prayer
I. Dissect this beatitude a little to get us thinking about it’s significance by looking at several points
1. It’s the last beatitude (podcast for previous)
The first several beatitudes dealt with the order of salvation- humbling oneself before Jesus, accepting we are powerless to save ourselves and coming to Him for His free gift of salvation.
They then deal with the redeemed nature that Christ gives us when we are born again. We then move into the actions of the redeemed person- to be pure in heart and be peacemakers- bringing people and God together so that all can come into the saving knowledge of Jesus.
All of this culminates into this reality- persecution
2. It’s the longest beatitude- that in itself merits our attention this morning as I don’t believe that the Holy Spirit wasted a single word in the bible, and therefore when it goes into depth about a subject, it’s worth our time and effort to learn and study it.
3. It’s the only beatitude with a command- rejoice
It seems the exact opposite of how we should treat persecution or anything that causes us pain or discomfort. Why did Jesus tell us to rejoice?
Why rejoice? Because God is worthy of our worship
Why rejoice? Because a servant is not greater than his/her master, and they persecuted Jesus so we should expect the same
Why rejoice? Because God counts us worthy to endure for HIS great name.
More about this later
4. It’s the only beatitude with an explanation
Jesus understands that persecution will cause us to immediately want to withdraw from seeking Him. Psychology teaches us that most of the reasons we do what we do is the avoidance of pain whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual.
Because of that characteristic of human nature we will avoid standing for that which is right if it brings with it the pain of social rejection. That’s why Jesus spends so much more time with this beatitude
5. It’s the only beatitude repeated by Jesus
Anytime the bible repeats itself, it’s worth underlining and praying through that scripture until God reveals it and forms it into you fully.
6. It’s the only beatitude directly addressed to the person reading
Jesus turns personal speaking of persecution, because persecution will test us at our deepest level. All the other beatitudes are statements of fact and instruction to the crowd. Jesus switches it up here and talks specifically to you and me- people who want to follow these beautiful attitudes, take up their cross, and follow HIM.
Those are just 6 points that jumped out at me as I was studying for the sermon today.
Let’s look at the types of persecution Jesus specifically talks about-
II. Persecution
Let me first talk about-
A. What it is not-
Throughout my walk with Christ I have witnessed many people try to win others to Jesus Christ. I have seen good, I have seen bad, I have seen even very ugly ways attempt to win people to Jesus.
Now when people use the bad and the ugly with a person or people who are fallen human beings, the result is usually very dramatic and very confrontational in ways that don’t show the unbeliever the love of Jesus.
It’s like throwing water into hot grease- there is an explosion that makes a mess
One day I came to school in 9th grade at Washington Jr High, and there were people on the sidewalk holding signs, screaming at the students and teachers that we were a bunch of dirty, rotten, no good sinners that are going to hell and God was happy to send us there.
Many of my friends were in shouting matches with these people, and a few of them shoved off on the people sticking their signs in people’s faces.
I remember one of them yelling at us these verses we are studying this morning about how blessed they were because we were persecuting them.
I thought, “No, you are just being a jerk and about to get the beat down you deserve”
Listen, you can’t claim persecution if what you are going through is a direct result of you being a jerk.
I say this because Jesus is very specific in His choice of words- “Blessed are those who are persecuted FOR Righteousness sake”
The persecution Jesus is speaking of here is when you are showing all of these other beautiful attitudes and still receiving evil for it, that is when you are blessed.
If you are going to to claim the blessing persecution brings you must first be
Poor in spirit- understand that you needed Jesus even more than the person you are speaking to at the moment.
Mourn over the condition of your soul and the souls of others
Meek and humble in your dealings with others
You must hunger and thirst for your personal righteousness before trying to form it in others
You must show mercy to those who still don’t know Jesus in all of His fullness and be willing to be patient with them as they grow into their walk with our LORD
You must be pure in heart so you can help others see God
Then, and only then can you be the peacemaker Jesus has called you to be.
After you have done all of that, if you are still being persecuted, then you WILL be blessed.
And that is a special kind of rejoicing and a special fellowship with God our Father that you earn the right to experience
Let’s talk about the specific kinds of persecution
What will all of those hardships look like according to Jesus-
Insults-
You can’t live in America today and call yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ without enduring a barrage of insults from every angle. TV, Radio, News both TV and print, and movies all portray Christians as simple minded, intolerant, spiteful bigots that want to force their narrow backwards and restrictive morality upon the entire world.
And that’s the mild stuff.
There is a whole industry out there that lives to dig up dirt on people- all for the chance to bring down someone’s reputation.
Fusion GPS- trying to find dirt on politicians.
And often they do it with the second thing Jesus said-
Lies. It doesn’t even have to be true anymore to be news. FAKE news is an industry- people get paid for lying about people in the public spotlight. Think for just a moment about the false news stories you have seen or heard about in the last year.
I ask you as representatives of the Kingdom- if you have a social media page, be very very careful what you post as fact, especially when you see it on social media because most of it is twisted and false.
The prophet Isaiah spoke about what happens when wickedness is celebrated in a nation or culture.
Isaiah 59:14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
I want to focus on that last part for a moment, and especially bring this to the forefront for those who have recently accepted Christ.
There is a spiritual reality we have to accept to understand why things happen to us, especially after we make a commitment to follow after Jesus, you suddenly pop up on the devils radar screen.
So the devil sends persecution your way. The reason for it is because of the devil sees the thing he hates more than anything else-
The righteousness of Jesus shining through a person who has yielded to HIM.
Jesus shows the reason that those who follow Him are hated by the world in the verses following the ones we read-
Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Jesus shows us why the rest of fallen humanity despises or hates us-
The sinful nature is a fatal wound that all humanity bears. Jesus said we are salt. What happens when we rub salt into a wound?
The same thing that happens in the ER when I try to clean up a person’s cut or abrasion.
Intense Pain, burning, recoil.
You never see a kid move so fast as when we are trying to clean up his owie. They turn into gymnast that could win the Olympic gold in their attempts to get away from you.
All of us do that- We try to get away from the thing that is causing such pain, even though salt is doing a lot of good for the wound- it’s drying it out, killing bacteria, and aiding in healing. Salt was the original Neosporin or Bacitracin- it was widely used in Jesus’ time as the thing people would rub into wounds so they would heal faster.
That’s why Jesus calls you salt- because your righteousness will irritate the wounds of the unbeliever, and the will do anything they can in order to get away from you, up to and including persecution.
Jesus also says you are the light, and a light on the hill cannot be hidden.
Jesus sums up the condition of all humanity in John 3:19-20
I’m going to read it with commentary
This is the verdict (truth, reality as seen through God’s eyes): Light has come into the world (First though Jesus, and now that light shines through you), but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
You refusing to participate in things that the world calls good (which are actually evil in God’s eyes) is rubbing salt and shining light to those around you.
I want you to remember something when you are facing persecution because you are standing up for Jesus and His righteous word-
This will help you see people who hurt you very differently and help you not react in self defense and want to avoid them-
They don’t hate you. They hate Jesus. Oh, they might call themselves Christians. They might even come to church sometimes. But the reality is that they hate Jesus because Jesus is the ultimate light and the purest salt so all He does is cause pain to them when HE shines through you.
They can’t touch Him, so they come after you.
Here is another way of looking at it-
The devil can’t win in a fight against Jesus. With the least amount of effort Jesus could blink satan out of existence. To illustrate just how pitifully weak the evil one is compared to any member of the blessed Godhead, Jesus doesn’t even bother to catch and bind satan, but sends an angel to do it.
I don’t know this, and can’t prove it biblically, but I think that Jesus is even keeping one angel aside for this task, and this angel is going to be the runt. He’s the 4 foot nothing, 80-pound angel that if bullies existed amongst the angels he would be the one that got the sand kicked in his face.
That angel will be the one to grab satan after the return of Jesus to bind him for a 1000 years.
I give that little illustration to highlight this point- you are worth more to God than all of the angels. The bible does not record Jesus taking the form of an angel and dying for them, but he did so for you and me.
Because with everything God created in the universe, humanity is His most treasured creation. God wants non of his most prized creation to perish, but all to come to repentance.
I close with the reward of persecution- The Kingdom.
Kingdom has 2 parts-
One is the earthly one we are participating in right now. I say this especially to those who have made their commitment official through membership- This embassy of the Kingdom of God is your church.
Some people would describe Coulee Community Church as Pastor John’s church- NO! I’m nobody. I’m an under shepherd. This is your church. It’s success or failure is up to you and your commitment to see the Kingdom of God flourish in our county.
The second is the spiritual Kingdom in Heaven. There are rewards waiting for you there based on how faithful you are to the Kingdom here on earth.
You have a crown waiting for you. Make sure you live in such a way that no other person gets what Jesus wants to give you here on earth, or in the Kingdom to come.
I close today with this brief story-
Reinhard Bonkee, one of the greatest evangelists of our lifetime tells the story of his calling to be God’s Evangelist to Africa. He was wrestling with God, begging the father to find someone else- that there had to be people more qualified and gifted to do the work he was being called to.
God’s answer to him was this- “You’re right, there are people more talented, gifted, and able to do this work than you are. They all refused, and you are #8 on my list of people to try and use.”
Reinhard bowed his head in worship, and obeyed the calling.
The result- over 75 million conversions. It wasn’t easy. He faced intense persecution especially from Muslims- he survived multiple attempts on his life, but he preserved.
I remember him saying in a message he preached at Brownsville during the revival years of the 1990’s- “After that encounter with God I became determined that no one will steal my crown or anything God has for me or wants to do through me.”
For those of you who have served this church for years- God thanks you- you have a rich reward waiting.
For those who have just accepted membership today- God has something for you- seek HIM until you find out what it is.
And let’s be willing to do whatever it takes to win as many as we can to the saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Altar Call
