BATTERED BUT BLESSED
Matthew 5:10-12

Introduction:     Do you ever feel harassed? Life can give us quite a headache sometimes. You know it's going to be a bad day when:

While these indicators of a bad day are funny, we have all experienced many bad days that were not at all funny. The truth is that we encounter very real trials. All of us experience persecution from time to time. Now, you are not the first. Some may not be comforted by that fact but, many are encouraged by it. This is especially true when we realize that Jesus was persecuted to the point of death and He said we would be persecuted if we made the choice to live for Him. Jesus also gave us the model of how to respond under pressure and persecution. He told us the truth about it and gave us the key, not only to understand it, but how to rise above it. His words are solemn but encouraging and we need encouragement in order to deal with persecution. Some persecution comes because we deserve it but, to the committed persecution comes for living faithful righteous lives. Being harassed or persecuted can cause us to be discouraged and depressed. How can we avoid this? How can we rise above it? Well, we need hope and assurance that this persecution is not all there is. We need to know that there is something more. If we would be encouraged to live for righteousness, we must have the rock-solid confidence that what we endure is worth it. Jesus gives us several considerations concerning persecution and how to respond to it. Today I want to deal with just two.

I.          THE REALITY OF PERSECUTION

The first consideration Jesus gives is the reality of persecution. He was saying that if we are going to be Christians we will suffer persecution. But, He adds that we will be blessed if we are persecuted. Let us consider what Jesus does and doesn't say.

            A.        What Jesus Doesn’t Say

He doesn't say that we will be blessed if we are persecuted because…

·        We Are Obnoxious.

No, if you are persecuted because you are being obnoxious, you deserve it. Jesus also does not say that we will be blessed if we are persecuted because…

·        We Are Fanatical.

I see very little danger of this happening to most Christians. Far from being over-zealous, most Christians are under-zealous. If many Christians slow down any more they would be traveling in reverse. He is also not saying that we will be blessed if we are persecuted because…

·        We Stand For A Cause.

It may be a righteous cause. However, standing for a just cause is not necessarily standing for Christ and we must make this distinction. In fact, some people have courted martyrdom for the sake of their cause. They have seen it as a way to bring attention and notoriety to their cause so they have done things in order to be persecuted. This is not what Jesus is talking about. Finally, He is not talking about our being blessed because…

·        We Are Persecuted For Being Good.

We may be good, or noble, or self-sacrificing and not be righteous. As a matter of fact, the world generally praises good and noble and self-sacrificing people. They're generally thought of as fine Christian. But the fact that the world praises them should raise a flag of warning to us. This is not what Jesus is talking about.

What is He talking about? When He talks about righteous, what does He mean?

            B.         What Jesus Does Say

The answer is found in verse 11 where He says that all of this persecution comes to us "on account of Me." To be righteous simply means being like the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are like Him have always been persecuted (John 15:18-20) "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." Christians have a long history of persecution. Think about life in the early church. Suppose a stone-mason had come to know Christ. Then he was asked to build a temple to a pagan god. What should he do? Suppose a tailor had become a Christian. Then he was asked to make garments for pagan priests. What should he do? What would you do? Well, whatever you would do, they refused. We tend to be far too willing to compromise. (Also see *)

We may not face that kind of persecution but we daily face persecution of other kinds:

·        A man is continually passed over for a promotion, because he will not party with his bosses.

·        A woman is talked about behind her back because she insists on living a Godly life.

·        A teenage boy or girl is shunned by his or her friends when he or she becomes a Christian and no longer engages in the questionable activities that once ran his or her life.

·        Christians are ridiculed and mocked and falsely accused because they chose to live righteously and because they chose to share Christ.

In light of our commitment to Christ we will suffer persecution. But in light of what others have suffered, ours should seem like a very slight thing indeed.

II.         THE RESPONSE TO PERSECUTION

Jesus said that we should "rejoice and be glad." Obviously Jesus is not saying that persecution itself makes us happy. Jesus is not saying that we should rejoice because of the persecution. Rather, He is saying that we should rejoice, and be glad, for our reward in heaven is great. We rejoice because of our reward. It is interesting that the word used here, which is translated "and be glad", literally means "to leap for joy." What is in view is an excitement over great news. He means that those who are persecuted for righteousness sake have a reward that is worth leaping and shouting about. (Illus: There are different levels of gladness (expound). This should give us an idea what Jesus was speaking of when He said that our reward in heaven would be great). This is what James speaks of when he says, (James 1:2) "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;" We consider it joy because God is at work in us. Why should we rejoice when we suffer for righteousness sake? We should:

A.        Rejoice Because Of Redemption

It is an indication that we are Christians. If we are persecuted because we are acting rightly that shows that we have been born again. Ours is the Kingdom of Heaven . Christian's lives have been changed and the world doesn't like it. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

B.         Rejoice Because Of Reward

We can rejoice because we look forward to future reward. Jesus says that our reward in Heaven is great! In the Book of Revelation Jesus gives personal messages to seven churches.  One of these churches is the persecuted church of Smyrna . Revelation 2:8-10

C.        Rejoice Because Of Reproduction

We can rejoice because our suffering will lead others to faith in Christ. When we suffer for righteousness sake, many unrighteous will notice and be convicted.  When they start to ask about the hope we show during persecution, we need to be ready to share the Gospel with them. (1 Pet 2:15) "For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:" (1 Pet 3:14-15) "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; {15} But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

D.        Rejoice Because Of Recollection

·        We can rejoice because we suffer for the Lord's sake.

One of the greatest persecutors of the church was a man named Saul of Tarsus. One day, on the road to Damascus , Jesus saved Him, and he eventually became known as the Apostle Paul. Jesus said of Him in Acts 9:16 - For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And please notice Paul's attitude towards persecution. Acts 20:22-24

·        We can rejoice because we follow in the tradition of the prophets.

When you and I are persecuted for righteousness sake, we join another group of honored people, the Old Testament Prophets. These were men who stood for God, but suffered tremendous persecution. They stood for righteousness and were persecuted for it. What an honor to be counted with that great group of men.

Conclusion:       Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." If you are harassed, hang on! The glory to come will come soon.

* In that day Rome ruled the world. The Emperor came to be regarded as a god. Every year a person had to go and burn a pinch of incense in honor of Caesar and say, "Caesar is lord." It was simply a test of political loyalty. After the person burned his pinch of incense and received a certificate called a libellus, which said he had done so, he could then worship any god he liked. The Christian refused to do so. Thousands were tortured and killed for their devotion to Christ.

One of the most famous martyrs was Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna . He was dragged before the Roman authorities and given the inevitable choice - make his sacrifice to Caesar or be burned to death. Listen to what he said: "Eighty and six years have I served Christ, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" They brought Polycarp to the stake and he prayed his last prayer; "Oh, Lord God Almighty, the Father of thy well beloved and ever blessed Son, by whom we have received the knowledge of thee . . . I thank thee that thou hast graciously thought me worthy of this day and of this hour."

Listen to the way one writer has described the persecutions Christians have suffered.

All the world knows of the Christians who were flung to the lions or burned at the stake; but these were kindly deaths. Nero wrapped the Christians in pitch and set them alight, and used them as living torches to light his gardens. He sewed them into skins of wild animals and set his hunting dogs upon them to tear them to death. They were tortured on the rack; they were scraped with pincers; molten lead was poured hissing upon them; red hot brass plates were affixed to the tenderest parts of their bodies; eyes were torn out; parts of their bodies were cut off and roasted before their eyes; their hands and feet were burned while cold water was poured over them to lengthen the agony. These things are not pleasant to think about, but these are the things a man had to be prepared for, if he took his stand with Christ.