The
Greatest Sermon in History Part 4
Hang On for Heaven
by Greg Hanson
Sunrise Wesleyan Church
February 1, 2004
Main Passage:
Matthew 5:1-12 (NLT)
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been
going through the Beatitudes. There are eight of them in all; we’ve
already looked at the first seven. And we’ve saved the eighth one for
today. So here are at the final Beatitude, the one that Jesus spend
more time on than all the others, and the one that is probably the most
confusing for us to understand.
This is what He said…
Beatitude
#8
“Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say
all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad,
because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
~ Matthew 5:10-12 (NIV)
We’re supposed to be happy when we’re persecuted? We’re supposed to be
glad about being punished? And not just punished, but punished for
doing right! Hey, I can handle it when I’m punished for doing wrong.
Believe me, my parents had punish me a lot for doing the wrong thing.
And even then I understood it, I can tell you I never enjoyed it. But
punished for doing right? And being glad about it? That’s not just
confusing, it’s plain weird.
But Jesus didn’t say, “You’re blessed if you’re persecuted for being an
idiot.” And He didn’t say, “You’re blessed if you’re persecuted for
committing a crime.” He said, “You’re blessed if you’re persecuted
because of righteousness… for doing the right thing… for living in a
right relationship with God.”
“Thanks for the wonderful job you’ve done, now off with your head.”
Doesn’t make sense, does it? I mean, surely no one could ever be
punished for doing right!
Doesn’t make sense? Try this. Take your pen, and in the blank space in
your message notes I want you to try some math.
Write down your shoe size. (If it’s a half size, round it down, not up.)
Multiply that by 2.
Now add 5. So far, so good?
Now multiply by 50 and add 1754 and subtract the year of your birth.
The last two digits should be how old you are or how old you will turn
this year.
[Note: this works for the year 2004. For 2005, change 1754 to 1755,
etc.]
Anybody understand that? Probably not. But just because it doesn’t make
sense to you doesn’t mean it’s not true. You can be punished for doing
right.
A few years ago, Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum finished a 10-year long
survey. Over that time, they had asked 35,000 people to name the people
they admired most in history. Top five answers are on the board…
1. Winston Churchill
2. Joan of Arc
3. Jesus Christ
4. John F. Kennedy
5. Robin Hood
These are people that we respect and admire. Surely that proves that
the people who do good are honoured. Yeah, sure. Churchill was voted
out of office, Joan of Arc burned at the stake, Jesus Christ crucified,
JFK assassinated, and Robin Hood hunted as a criminal. Sorry to burst
your bubble, but the good are not always rewarded for doing good.
And if society could persecute and eventually murder the God-Man, Jesus
Christ, then it seems clear that the very same society could persecute
any who choose to follow Him and call themselves by His name.
Jesus knew this. That’s why He said,
Matthew 5:10 (NIV)
Blessed are those who are persecuted because
of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In fact, He expanded on this in John 15 when He told His disciples…
John 15:18-20 (NLT)
“When the world hates you, remember it hated
me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belonged to it,
but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates
you. Do you remember what I told you? `A servant is not greater than
the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute
you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you!”
Why
Would People Persecute Believers?
A. They Feel Threatened – You
challenge their way of life
A wild animal will attack you when it feels
threatened. And if someone feels threatened by you and your faith, then
it is quite possible that they will attack you.
Let me give you an example. Look at the domination of sexuality in our
society. What has free sex given us?
PARTICIPATION
(unwanted pregnancies, STDs, abortions, suicide, depression, rape…)
Society would tell you that we have a condom problem with a condom
solution. That’s according to the value system of the world. But the
value system of Heaven would tell you that we have a moral problem and
that it has a spiritual solution. But if you state that view in public,
you may be seen as strict and legalistic, living the dark ages, and as
some unenlightened baboon who needs a good dose of reality.
The value system of the world and the value
system of Heaven are always in conflict.
I remember having coffee with someone a year or so ago, and he couldn’t
get over the fact that I don’t cheat on my taxes. I don’t lie about my
income, I don’t hide money, I don’t cut corners… I’m as honest and
legal as I can be. If there’s a legitimate break I can claim, then I’ll
do that. I don’t want to pay more than I’m supposed to. But I don’t try
to cheat the government.
The guy I was with tried to convince me that there’s nothing wrong with
cheating on your taxes. As far as he was concerned, the government
deserves it. They cheat you, you should cheat them. And he couldn’t get
over the fact that I don’t.
I’m sure he thought I was either lying or that I’m incredibly naďve.
You know what else? I think he may have felt a little threatened by
that. He may have felt like I was looking down on him. He may have felt
a little exposed. He may have recognized that there could be some
thought process or some action in his life that wasn’t exactly moral.
I think we’ve all felt like that at some time or other. We’ve
recognized that we don’t quite measure up, and our natural instinct is
to defend ourselves. We justify our actions, and if that means tearing
in to the person who makes us confront our weakness or our sinfulness,
so be it.
B. They Feel Superior – You
challenge their opinions
As a pastor, I face this fairly often.
People don’t always say it out loud, but when they find out that I’m a
believer and that I’m a pastor, they lump me in with the Jimmy
Swaggarts, the Jim Bakers, the Jim Joneses and the David Koreshes of
the world. Or they blame me for the Crusades… a time in Church history
when a lot of things were done in the name of Christ with which Christ
had nothing to do. (By the way, that’s a form of taking the Lord’s name
in vain… using it inappropriately and using the authority of His name
when it doesn’t apply.)
So people judge me based on other Christian leaders who have fallen or
based on embarrassing times in Church history. But that doesn’t just
happen to pastors. People will form an opinion about you based on what
they’ve seen of believers in the media (and if they’re in the media,
they’re usually a kook) or they will form an opinion based on other
believers they’ve know who were perhaps less-than-ideal examples of
what it means to live for Jesus. We talked about this at the seminar
yesterday… perhaps they’ve known one other “Christian” in their life
time and that “Christian” was a hypocrite or self-righteous and
judgmental. If that’s the exposure a person has to one Christian, they
may figure that we’re all the same. We’re all a bunch of hypocrites.
C. They Feel Insulted – You
challenge their morality
Part of the message of Christianity is,
“You’re not good enough. You’re not good enough to make it on your own.
You’re not good enough to earn you way into Heaven. You’re not good
enough to please God.” It’s an offensive message. And for a lot of
people, it’s not what they want to hear.
D. They Feel Abused – You challenge
their past
When Shera and I were living in Bedford, we
had a guy who started to come to the church that we later found out was
one of the victims of sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel orphanage in
Newfoundland. He had been severely scarred by the Church, and it took
him years before he’d darkened the doorstep of a church again. Until
finally he had neighbours who attended our church who took the time to
build a relationship with him and restore some credibility.
It’s a sad reality that there are several people in our society who
have been sexually or physically abused by the church. And there are
several others who have been abused emotionally or mentally or even
spiritually. I know of some people who grew up in such strict, rigid
Christian homes that they want nothing to do with that kind of
legalism. That’s what the church has become to them.
Bill Maher is someone I see on TV all the time, and I’ve never heard
him say anything good about the Church. In fact, he spends a lot of
time tearing it down. And in doing so he’ll usually refer to religious
wars throughout history and his own childhood growing up in Church. And
as a result of his experiences as a child, he has no use for the Church
today.
There are all kinds of people who have been hurt by the Church, and as
a result don’t want anything to do with it. Maybe they blame God for
some tragedy in their lives. And if you represent God, then they’re
going to direct their anger and their hatred toward you. You will be
persecuted because of your relationship with Jesus.
One of the largest displays of persecution
in recent years was seen on September 11, 2001. Osama bin Laden and the
rest of al Qaida attacked what they perceived to be a Christian
society. Here at Sunrise we support a missionary by the name of JM
(name removed for security reasons). He’s a missionary to the Karis
people, but I can’t tell you exactly where he is because it could
endanger him. Right now in Sri Lanka, Christians are being forced out
of the country or are being slaughtered.
Take a look at this map. This map was compiled in 2000 by the Center
for Religious Freedom, which is a part of Freedom House in Washington
(www.freedomhouse.org/religion), an organization co-founded by Eleanor
Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie in 1941. This map shows the level of
religious freedom around the world. The countries in blue are where
you’ll find a relatively free society when it comes to religion. As you
might expect, we live in one of those countries. Next, you have the
yellow countries, which indicate countries which are partly free but
which do suffer from some religious discrimination and oppression. And
then you have the red countries, where there is virtually no freedom of
religion whatsoever.
Christians in these countries face the threat of beatings,
imprisonment, rape, and even execution. And they say Christianity is
for the weak. Yeah, right.
In comparison, I feel like a wimp complaining about any persecution I
face. But the truth is, there is persecution even here. What are some
examples?
PARTICIPATION
(banning school prayer, “holiday” trees, marginalized by society,
dismissed as intellectual morons…)
You’ll face persecution to one degree or another by society, and you’ll
also face it from individuals. Some people will insult you, slander
you, cheat you, take advantage of you, discriminate against you and
dismiss you and your message as irrelevant. And yes, even in Canada
there are people who are beat up because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
What do you do when that happens?
When
You Are Persecuted…
1. Stand Firm
Don’t give in to the pressure. Don’t
downplay the importance of Christ in your life just because someone
doesn’t like it. Don’t adopt World values just because people get
uncomfortable with Kingdom values.
This week I read a little bit about the first century Church. In the
generation following Christ’s death and resurrection, believers
literally feared for their lives. You see, each year the people under
Roman rule had to pay tribute to the Emperor by offering a pinch of
incense and saying, “Caesar is Lord.” The problem was that the early
Christians refused to do that because of their firmly held belief that
only Jesus is Lord. And so their lives became very cheap. These
Christians were often burnt at a stake, wrapped in animal skins and
thrown to wild dogs, tortured on racks… They had to suffer in ways that
we would find hard to imagine today.
I’m sure these words of Jesus resounded loud and clear for them.
Matthew 5:11 (NIV)
“Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of
me.”
Jesus knew that there were people in the crowd that very day who,
because of their faith, would be beaten, imprisoned, flogged, beheaded,
crucified, boiled in oil, fed to lions, exiled, hanged, torn apart by
wild animals, and tortured. (Not necessarily in that order.) Yet
through all of this He encourages them to endure it… to stand firm.
I saw a bumper sticker this week that said, “Mean people need Prozac.”
That may be true. They also need to see that your faith is real enough
that you’re not going to abandon it when things get tough.
2. Be glad about it
Why? Why should we be glad about it? What
reason is there to rejoice when you’re being persecuted. Notice that
Jesus didn’t say, “Enjoy it.” I think you need to be a bit demented to
enjoy persecution. And He didn’t say that we should go out of our way
to find ways to be persecuted. But He did say, “When you are
persecuted… when your relationship with Me results in you being
discriminated against or punished in some way… then there’s a silver
lining. You have reasons to celebrate even in spite of what you’re
going through.” What are those reasons? Let me give you three…
Three Reasons to Celebrate:
a. It guarantees you a
reward in Heaven
It’s the old philosophy of “No pain, no gain.” You may have to endure
some pain for the moment, but in the end it will be well worth it.
Jesus said, “…great is your reward in heaven.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 (NLT)
But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for
it. So don't be afraid and don't worry. Instead, you must worship
Christ as Lord of your life.
About two weeks ago, Shera and I drove to Fredericton for a puppetry
conference she was going to there. And one of the things I’ve started
to do when driving over the Bridge is listen ot the Confederation
Bridge Radio. I know, pretty sad. But I like to catch up on the weather
forecast, they give you some trivia, and they always have a “Smile for
Today.” And I liked this one…
“Pain and suffering are like gas… this too shall pass.”
Well, there’s some good Biblical teaching in there. Whatever you have
to go through right now for the sake of Christ, you will be rewarded
for it in Heaven.
b. It puts you in good
company
Jesus said, “…for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you.”
Many of the heroes of the faith had to endure persecution:
Abel – Genesis 4:3-8
David – 1 Samuel 18:9-11
Jeremiah – Jeremiah 20:10
Daniel – Daniel 6
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego – Daniel 3
Moses – Exodus 5:21; 14:11; 16:2; 17:2
Samuel – 1 Samuel 8:5
Elijah – 1 Kings 18:17; 19:2
Nehemiah – Nehemiah 4:1-3
Amos – Amos 7:10-13
Stephen – Acts 7
Paul – 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Etc.
They were all persecuted because of their faith. And if you are
persecuted because of your faith, then that puts you right in their
company.
c. It identifies you
with Jesus
We talked about this verse earlier. Jesus said…
John 15:20 (NLT)
Do you remember what I told you? `A servant is not greater than the
master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you.
3. Pray for your persecutors
In another part of the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus says…
Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
“…Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you…”
We’re going to be dealing with that verse in future weeks. So for now,
let’s just recognize that an important part of dealing with being
treated unfairly is to pray for the person who is treated us that way.
Don’t pray against them, pray for them.
Persecution is not fun. (That may be the
most obvious statement I’ve ever made.) But the truth is, even when you
and I face times of persecution and discrimination and punishment and
ridicule and abuse because of our faith, there is an upside. One day,
not too far away, all this will be done and we can spend eternity with
our God in Heaven.
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