This passage is referred to as the Be-Attitudes because it identifies the attitudes that ought to be in every born again believer.

 [Today we look at another of the Be-Attitudes or the Attitudes that ought to be.] 

[Matthew 5:10-12 ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. ]

You will never be as blessed, you will never be as happy, as you will be when you: 

·        [Through your spiritual bankruptcy (poor spirit) turn to and receive the Lord Jesus Christ – This is your Salvation]

·        [Through your brokenness over your sin and what it cost the Lord Jesus Christ (Mourning) repent and turn from you sinfulness – This is your Surrender.]

·        [Through your submission to the goodness and eternal wisdom of God meekly give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ – This is your Submission.]

·        [Through your heart felt desire hunger and thirst for the righteousness only found through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for then you will be fully contented – This is your Passion]

·        [Through your kindness and tender heart show mercy and as a result receive God’s mercy in return – This is your Compassion.]

·        [Seek to be pure in the sight of God from the heart, or core of your being, for then you will surely see, or be very near, to your Heavenly Father – This is your Integrity.]

·        [Strive to be a Peacemaker by bring those around you into the peace of God through the new birth found in the Lord Jesus Christ – This is your Purpose.] 

[Today we discover that the heart of a born again child of God, who is walking near to their Heavenly Father will be a man or woman of perseverance in the face of persecution.] 

[Read Text in unison] 

[This passage combines joy and persecution.] 

[Joy is the thermostat of our Christian lives,
Persecution is the thermometer of our Christian lives.
Joy controls persecution. 
Persecution is the indicator of Godly love.]
[Author unknown] 

[What on earth does persecution have to do with ones attitude and the Be-attitudes?  It seems that if a person were to truly live out the be-attitudes living in,] 

·        [Salvation – The spiritual beggar]

·        [Surrender – Mourning unto repentance]

·        [Submission – Meekly obeying God]

·        [Passion – Hungering for God and godliness]

·        [Compassion – giving and receiving mercy]

·        [Purity and Integrity – having a pure heart before God]

·        [Purpose – Making Peace through the gospel of Christ] 

[Then there ought to be calmness and peacefulness surrounding their life.  But God states something resoundingly different.  God, through the Bible says,] 

[2 Timothy 3:12 ¹² Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. ]

[Jesus said,] 

[Matthew 10:22 ²² And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.]

[John 15:18-20 ¹⁸ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. ]

[Why did the world hate and persecute Jesus?]

[John 7:7 ⁷ The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. ]

[If you truly live out the Be-Attitudes as taught in this passage, then you will be blessed and happy in Christ, but the world will see you and will hate you and will persecute you.  Jesus said it would be so.  God recorded that it would be so in the Bible.   History has revealed that it is so.] 

[The devil, every Christian’s adversary, is not worried about nor afraid of a Bible carrying, Church going, worldly (carnal) person who is doing nothing to bring the peace of God into the lives of those around them.  The devil loves religion and is the founder of almost every worldly religious system.  But the devil hates and seeks to devour any born again Christian who has truly received the Lord Jesus Christ and is carrying the life changing message of the Word of God into this lost and dark world.  Satan will rally all of his demons and worldly resources to silence the true Gospel message of salvation, redemption, and conversion through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Hence, they who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.] 

[Adrian Rogers once said,]

["The lack of persecution is not an indicator of a good job;
it indicates ineffectiveness and a lack of love for Jesus."] 

[Christians new and old need to understand that Scripture resoundingly declares that persecution is the undeniable result of a life lived out for Christ.  Godliness, holiness, righteousness, purity, and integrity in the sight of God will result is persecution from our world and our families.  That’s right from our families as well.  When lost people come into contact with a truly born again child of God, who is really striving to live a life that is right with God, conviction will always be the result and the worlds first response to deep spiritual conviction is to fight back.  The hell bound do not want to be told that they are hell bound, and nothing speaks louder in our world than a life wholly given to the Lord Jesus Christ.] 

[Hence our Lord completes the Be-Attitudes by teaching,] 

[Matthew 5:10 ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ]

What Every Christian Should Know About Persecution, 

A.     The Reasons for persecution (1 Pet 4.14-16) 

·        [Persecution defined] 

[Persecution means to Pursue. You are persecuted when you are the butt of jokes because you love and live for Jesus. You are persecuted when you are being picked on because you love and live for Jesus.] 

[1 Peter 4:14 ¹⁴ If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. ]

[Persecution is not Punishment - Good people are persecuted by evil people.  Bad people are punished for their choices and actions.]   

[1 Peter 4:15-16 ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. ¹⁶ Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. ]

[If you have broken the civil law and are convicted and punished then you have experienced justice not persecution.]   

[If you have broken the Word of God and have sinned through immorality or rebellion and you suffer under the consequences for your sins then you have experienced justice not persecution] 

["Persecution is the thermometer of how much you love Jesus."] [Adrian Rodgers]] 

[From the Bible we learn that] We are persecuted for: 

1.      The Life We Live (vs 10; 2 Tim 3.12; Titus 2.14; 1 Pet 2.9) [– Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: . . . ]  

a.       [If we live godly lives we will be persecute.  The Bible states,] 

[2 Timothy 3:12 ¹² Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.]

[The Testimony of the New Birth - The devil and our lost world cannot stand someone who actually lives a life that declares that the new birth found only in the Lord Jesus Christ is real.  Because if the new birth is real then the Word of God is real and that means heaven and hell are real and that means they had better get saved and live a right life.]

[Illustration – Proving that Jesus is really God – Our youth once got into a discussion about what Christmas is really all about.  Someone properly said Christmas is about Jesus who was and is God with us.  Then another youth said then we have to prove that Jesus is real and is really God.  A long discussion then followed debating the reality of Jesus and His divinity.]

[It seems many a Christians has followed this state of mind and has tried to intellectually prove the deity of Christ.  The truth is all we need to do to prove that Jesus is God is declare it so and then live our lives for Him.  Nothing speaks louder than a life truly lived out for Christ.  Nothing destroys the evidence of the deityship of Christ more than people who say they are Christians and then live like the lost in our world.]

[When you live a godly life the world will,]

·        [Try to get you to cuss like them.]

·        [They will try to get you to lie like them.]

·        [They will try to get you to steal like them.]

·        [They will try to commit immorality like them.]

[Empty lives and empty words – If you fall and live like the world then you prove to them that your testimony is just a bunch of hot air.  You have a religion but Jesus is not real to you.]

b.      [Christians are different – The Bible says that when a person is born again God comes to live inside of them and their lives will be undeniably changed forever.  This is referred to as a conversion or transformation.  Hence the Bible states,] 

[Titus 2:14 ¹⁴ Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.]

[1 Peter 2:9 ⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:]

[Your life is the only real evidence that the lost in our world have that the Lord Jesus Christ really is God and that the Bible really is true.] 

[Righteousness in Christ is the root cause of Biblical persecution.] 

[Persecution is the only real evidence that you are living a godly life in Christ Jesus.] 

[If there is no persecution in your life, not punishment, then you may have a religion but you are not living for the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not surrendered (vs 4), you are not submissive (vs 5), and you are not a peacemaker (vs 9).] 

2.      The Lord We Love (vs 11, John 7.7; 15.20) -  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  

a.       [The world does not hate the baby Jesus.  Who could hate a precious little innocent baby.  No one hates the Christ of Christmas who is viewed as a baby in a manger.] 

b.      [They hate the Lord Jesus Christ – because the Lord Jesus Christ is come to destroy the sinful works of the world.  The Lord Jesus Christ who died on Calvary’s Cross, arose from the grave, and ascended on high, declares that the world is lost in sin and needs to be saved and transformed through Christ.  The world hates the Lord Jesus Christ because He reveals who and what they really are.] 

[John 7:7 ⁷ The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. ]

c.       [They hate the Lord Jesus' People. The world hates the People of Christ because they, through their righteousness and godliness, reveal the truth and power of the gospel of Christ.  They persecute Christians because they persecuted Jesus and they will not continue to be convicted.] 

[John 15:20 ²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.]

B.     The Result of Persecution – [Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  - In this text our lord reveals the three basic types of persecution that His people can expect to bear up under.] The three types of persecution are, 

1.      The Personal Insult (vs 11, Mark 4.16-17) [- . . . when men shall revile you . . . – To revile someone is to mock them and ridicule them.  This is probably the most common form of persecution in America today.  Christians in America are weak indeed, for it seems that not many Christians will long endure the mocking words leveled against all who would align themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.] 

[In the parable of the sower and the seed Jesus spoke of the seed that fell into stony ground, of which Jesus said,] 

[Mark 4:16-17 ¹⁶ And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. ]

[Are you easily offended when the world mocks your righteousness in Christ?  Do you find it easier to just hide your faith than to let the world see Jesus in you?  Then know that you are weak in Christ and learn to stand up, stand up for Jesus!  Yes, the world will mock your faith. God said they would.  But this is not a sign of weakness or wrongfulness; it is the mark of godliness.  Rejoice, my Christian friend you are doing God’s kingdom work when the world reviles you and great is your reward in heaven!!] 

2.      The Physical Abuse (vs 11; Matt 10.16-22) [- . . . and persecute you, . . .  - They will do you harm.  The word persecution here means to buffet and batter.  It is actual physical abuse.  Some might say, “What?  The Bible teaches that Christians might be physically harmed for their faith?”  Indeed it does!  Jesus said,]  

[Matthew 10:16-22 ¹⁶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. ²⁰ For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. ²¹ And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. ²² And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. ]

a.       [Our Lord died on Calvary’s Cross through persecution.] 

b.      [All of the apostles died martyr’s deaths through persecution] 

c.       [More have died in the last century than in all those that preceded it through persecution.] 

3.      The Public Accusations (vs 11; 1 Tim 3.2,10) [- . . . and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. – These are the outright lies that will be told against our Lord’s people.  It shouldn’t surprise anyone when the world tells lies and brings accusations against God’s man (the preacher) or God’s people (the deacons and members)  these ought to be fully expected.  When the Bible says that a preacher or deacon ought to be blameless (1 Tim 3.2,10) it does not mean that there won’t be accusations, it means that they should not be convictable.  The accusations will come but they will not stick because they will be lies.] 

[Christians in our day show their lack of understanding of passages like this one when they seem to believe every lie told about a preacher, deacon, or church member.  You are falling to persecution and have become the agent of persecution and the devil when you do so.  Evil lies and accusations are a form of persecution.] 

[If you are the recipient of such lies and tales rejoice in the Lord.  These lies are just another form of persecution that our Lord said would come your way if you will live for Jesus in righteousness and godliness.] 

C.     Your Response to Persecution.  You should, 

1.      Reign like a King (vs 12; Rom 8.17) [- Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven . . .  – When you received the Lord Jesus Christ into your life you became a child of the King which makes you an heir to His throne.  The Bible states,]

[Romans 8:17 ¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.]

[You are better than this wicked world and its hate.  Do not respond to persecution and its injustice as the lost in this world would respond, but instead respond with honor and mercy as any good prince or king would do.  Christians need to reign like the royalty they are even when faced with hatefulness and contempt.]

2.      Rejoice in the Lord (vs 12; Acts 5.40-42) [- Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: . . .   - In Acts 5 Peter and the other apostles were cast into prison by the religious leaders of their day, an angel delivered them and they went out and preached Jesus again.  Then they were again brought before the religious council and this time they were beaten and commanded not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore.  Then the Bible records, ] 

[Acts 5:40-42 ⁴⁰ . . .  and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. ⁴² And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. ]

a.       [To leap and jump - to dance because people see Jesus in you.] 

3.      Respond In Love (Matt 5.43-45) [–Love is not giving people what they deserve; it is giving them what they need.  Adrian Rogers noted that we can respond on three levels:] 

a.        [The Hellish level - evil for good.] 

b.      [The Human level - good for good] 

c.       [The Heavenly level - good for bad.] 

[Matthew 5:44-45 ⁴⁴ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ⁴⁵ That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: . . . ] 

D.    The Rewards for Enduring Persecution. 

1.      The Provision Promised (Matt 5.10; Mark 10.29-31). 

a.       [The kingdom of heaven is yours.] 

[Matthew 5:10 ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.]

 [Those of this world can ridicule you, persecute you, and rail upon you, but they can never touch what your Heavenly Father has promised you.  Your reward is great and is eternally secure, and every persecution they bring your way only increases the honor you will receive in heaven.  There is an eternal crown set aside for every Christian that endures persecution.  They think they are tearing you down, while they are just building you up in eternity to come.]

b.      [Great is your provision in this life] 

[Mark 10:29-31 ²⁹ And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, ³⁰ But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. ³¹ But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. ]

[God’s promise for those who endure persecution not only extends to Heaven’s eternal kingdom to come but it extends to this life as well.  Your heavenly father will take care of you no matter what.  Those who will persecute you will never be able to prevail against you, because God is for you.] 

2.      The Promotion Promised (Matt 5.10-12) 

[Matthew 5:10-12 ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. ]

[When you, as a child of God, stand up for God in the face of persecution you will be undeniably blessed.  You will know and experience heavens greatest joy.] 

 

CrossRoads Baptist Church, Dec 28, 2008