"BLESS THIS HOME"
wk- 4 Persecuted
Pastor Timothy Porter
Text: Matthew 5:10-12
INTRODUCTION:
Today, we're wrapping up our series called, "Bless This Home."
I'm so glad to have all of you with us. If maybe you missed other weeks, let me tell you what we're doing.
We're actually looking at the teaching of Jesus in Mathew 5, in a little section that we call the "beatitudes" where Jesus gave us 8 different qualities of those who would be blessed.
Although Jesus was talking to everybody, what we're doing for the purpose of this series is, we're applying his teaching to our homes, "Bless This Home."
Because, the reality is, if you look around today at so many homes where we live, most people wouldn't say, "Man, they're really blessed. They've got a blessed marriage, their kids are blessed."
So what we're doing is, we're asking God to teach us to live according to his word so that he would bless our homes.
?If you're taking notes, let me give you kind of the key thought that we've been looking at every single week.
• WE ARE NOT JUST A CHRISTIAN HOME.
• WE ARE A CHRIST-CENTERED FAMILY.
?TODAY’S KEY THOUGHT
You ready for some fun? Here it is:
• IF YOU ARE A CHRIST-CENTERED FAMILY, YOU WILL BE PERSECUTED.
That's what I came to hear today, a little uplifting message to make me feel good.
I can tell I'm going to love this one.
Hey! But it's true. Okay?
?If you are a Christ-centered family, what you need to understand is that people will mock you, make fun of you and ridicule you or worse because that's what happens when you are Christ centered.
I don't know how it will play for your family but it plays in all different ways for my family.
If you go back to Week No. 1, what did we talk about?
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled."
If you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness in an unrighteous world, people are going to laugh at you, they're going to mock you.
Week 2, "Blessed are the pure in heart for you will see God."
If you're trying to live with a pure heart in a world that idolizes impurity, people are going to mock you.
Week 3, "Blessed are the peace makers for they'll be called children of God."
If someone strikes you on one cheek, and you turn the other cheek, if you go the extra mile, if you forgive that which seems unforgivable, many people don't have a category for that.
"you're weird, you're a doormat; that's stupid. What's wrong with you?"
They will mock you.
Jesus said very very clearly in the 8th and final beatitude, He said in Mathew 5, verse 10, "Blessed are those who" what? Say it aloud. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Now, here's what he said and this sounds very very unusual to us:
? "Blessed are you when people insult you, when they persecute you, when they say falsely all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven." Blessed are you when people make fun of you, persecute you, ridicule you because of your faith in me, great is your reward.
Now, some of you may say, "Okay, what exactly does that mean, blessed are you when you're persecuted for right living, for doing the right thing?"
You might think, "Well, obviously, Pastor Tim, you're going to be persecuted because you're a preacher, and you're kind of odd.
So, you've got it coming to you.
" The reality is you don't need to be a preacher to be persecuted.
In fact, the very first illustration of persecution in the bible between Cain and Abel wasn't because Abel was preaching to Cain. The reason Cain was angry is because Abel was living the right way.
He was doing the right thing before God and Cain wasn't.
His own sin convicted him and he felt like -- he was angry, and maybe mad at himself, and he lashed out and killed his own brother, not because his brother did anything wrong, but because his brother did everything right.
And he was convicted by that right living.
And so, I don't know what it will be for you, but when you are a Christ-centered family, you will have different values.
And maybe you're a teenager or a young adult and you think, "I'm going to honor God with sexual purity. I'm not going to have sex until I'm married." And all your friends are like, "You're an idiot. That's the stupidest thing. Who would give that up? That's just stupid." And they're going to make fun of you.
"Blessed are you when people persecute you for righteousness sake."
Maybe, you're not going to go to certain movies that all your friends are going to.
Why?
Because there's a little bit of poop in the brownies. Right? Who knows what I'm talking about?
And you say, "I'm not going to do this even though everybody else is," and they make fun of you.
Or maybe you're so crazy, you say, "We're not going to put our child in this one sports league." Why not? "Well, because they play games when we go to church."
Maybe you're seeking God and trying to serve God and things aren't going right in your life.
People will say, "Where's God now? HAHAHAHAHAH! Why aren't things going right in your life?"
It's then when you recognize that things may not be going right in your life not because you're doing something wrong, but they may not be going right because you're doing what's right.
There's spiritual opposition for it!
? If you are a Christ-centered family, you will be persecuted for your faith.
That raises the question: How do we prepare our families for persecution?
How do we prepare them to have roots in their faith in Christ so they can handle the inevitable persecution that will come.
1) EXPECT IT.
Paul told Timothy in 2Timothy 3:12 , "Everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be" what, everybody? "They will be persecuted."
If you want to follow Christ, you will be persecuted.
If your family is Christ-centered, in some way, you will be different, and people won't understand, and they will criticize you. And you won't be different like everybody else, you'll be different in your unique way because you're seeking God and you're hearing from him in how he would lead you to follow him.
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be bpersecuted… 2 Tim 3:12
Christ-centered family. Different. Cost you. Homeschooling: Butter and Denim Skirts Make fun on you. Throw jabs at Thxgiving, Harass you on Facebook. Harass you 4 reading You Version Bible app. Not invite you party. Overlooked .
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People are More hostile toward Christians—values.
?What we were trying to do is plant the value in our children that we're willing to be different and we will be persecuted for it. So, whatever that looks like in your life, whatever God convicts you to do, you teach your kids early.
We expect it; we're Christ-centered and people will make fun of us.
The reason this is so important -- and you need to hear this -- is because the persecution in our country has been relatively light, but it is increasing every single day.
There is tremendous growing hostility towards Christianity, and Christ's values, and you better learn to stand strong and teach your children to stand strong because the heat is going to increase.
They need to have their roots planted deeply. You will be persecuted.
18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also…” John 15:18-20
2) ENDURE IT
When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it. 1 Cor 4:12
? what do we do? We endure it. When we're persecuted, we endure it.
What do we not do? We don't whine about it, we don't cry about it, we don't gripe about it,
"This isn't fair. My friend de-friended me on Facebook because I'm a Christ Centered person. I just can't suffer anymore." "Boo-hoo!" Suck it up butter cup We don't do that, we endure it!
So, when someone makes fun of you because you're going on a mission trip on spring break instead of going and partying at the beach, you just endure it.
You just take it like a man of God or a woman of God.
When people make fun of you because you have different values, you just take it. You just endure it with a smile on your face.
?When God calls you to do something different :
Like get out of debt, not to be in bondage so you drive an old car, and they make fun of you.
Or you live in a smaller place and they laugh and they say, "Hey, come on over here where we are. We're broke and loving it." You just endure it, you just endure it because you are a follower of Christ.
And when you do, it's amazing what happens. God does something inside of you. When you endure persecution, your spiritual roots grow deeper.
In fact, when you endure persecution, your intimacy with Christ increases, your spiritual resolve is strengthened.
?Explain how we walked away from a deeply invested carerer And how friends, family and I had extended family members that were deeply concerned for my stupid, irrational decision to go work for a church. When we went to plantr a church they reall thought we lost our marblers lol!
You know what that did?
Oh, it deepened my faith in Christ. It solidified the decision. It helped me to understand that I wasn't living for the approval of others but I was living for the approval of God, and it did something inside of me.
If you haven't been persecuted in a while, I'm telling you, it's almost a disadvantage.
I would almost say that the fact that there is little persecution where we live, it almost puts us at a spiritual disadvantage because all through history, when the church is persecuted, the church becomes stronger.
There's a sense of unity and there's passion, and there's boldness, and it weeds out those who don't really mean it, and it strengthens those who do and they become more effective for the cause of Chrtist!!!!
When your family stands together for Christ, not just, "yeah, we're kind of a Christian family.
When we're Christ centered, it draws you together. And when your family is persecuted, there's a sense of strength and identity for who God has called you to be.
• When family identity is strong, peer pressure is weak.
• When family identity is weak, peer pressure is strong.
Expect it. Endure it.
3) EMBRACE IT
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ…
16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 1 Peter 4:12-13, 16
? Friends at work make fun of you for praying before lunch. - PRAISE HIS NAME!!
After big game—Booty-licious Bunny Barn. and you say no - they make fun of you - Praise His Name!!!
Decide not to do a profitable deal—unethical. - God will bless you on the other side - Praise His Name!!!
Thank you God that we can live for you! That we can endure just a samll portion of what the Cross was like !!!!
?Told our kids—some people hate us. - After the stroke where the enemy was trying to take me out and destroy my family and this church - There was a group of people who were saying I faked the stroke and was throwing all kind of jabs at us - saying all the salvations and baptisims were not real - that I was a hertic and a false teacher -they ripped my girls apart and said they were doing that were not true. Telling lies on me and my wife. I mean trying every way to destroy us. What did we do ? What did we teach our girls and son in law to do?
?EXPECT IT - ENDURE IT - EMBRACE IT
?If you are a Christ-centered family—you will be persecuted.
Don’t worry when you are…worry when you are not.
