SERMON: THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN -- PERSECUTION

THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN -- PERSECUTION
(The Beatitude Series)
17 July 2011

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:10-12

10 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.


-- this morning, we are finishing our sermon series on the Beatitudes called “The Measure of a Christian” -- on that very first Sunday that we started this series, I reminded you that these Beatitudes are the attitudes and attributes that we should be seeking to develop in our lives if we wanted to become more and more like Jesus and become mature Christians in the faith
-- each Beatitude that Jesus gave us represented a step of progression in our Christian lives -- we started with the call to be poor in Spirit and respond to the grace that is offered us at the cross -- next, we were made aware of our sins as we mourned them and began the arduous path of sanctification
-- we learned to experience and express the power of the Spirit in our lives through meekness -- not prideful of God’s presence in our lives -- not boastful of our position -- but power in control -- power exercised for our good and the good of others
-- next we talked about relationships -- first, our need to hunger and thirst for righteousness as we tried to maintain a right relationship with God -- and then we talked about our relationships with others, as we learned to be merciful and to live as Christ to those around us, especially those who have wronged us
-- we moved on to talk about a life of purity -- a life of holiness -- where we are constantly cleansed through the power of the Word and our lives display a direction and a devotion to Christ and the things of Christ
-- and then, last week, we talked about our need to be peace makers -- people who are actively involved in God’s work of bringing hope and life and love to this world
-- this week, we finish up the Beatitudes by learning that real life only comes through death

II. Persecution
-- in this eighth and longest Beatitude, Jesus makes a promise that seems foreign to our modern-day American ears -- look back at verse 10 with me again

10 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.

-- when’s the last time you heard that message from the pulpit?
-- when’s the last time you heard a preacher give an altar call at the end of the service with these words, “If you come and believe in Jesus and put your faith in Him, He will forgive you of all your sins and you will start a new life with Him -- a life filled with trouble and tribulation -- a life filled with persecution and insults and lies -- a life that may lead to your death -- come to Jesus this morning and die”
-- that is the very message that Jesus gives us with this last Beatitude -- that is the call of every Christian who truly wants to follow Jesus wherever He might lead -- “Come and die,” Jesus says, “and you will be blessed”

-- remember the context of this passage -- remember the setting -- this is early in Jesus’ ministry -- the people who were originally going out to see John the Baptist are now flocking to hear Jesus along with many others who have heard of the miracles -- great crowds of people are following Jesus -- outside of the official temple in Jerusalem, Jesus has the biggest and fastest growing church in the land -- by all accounts, He is a success because that’s how we judge the quality of a church and its pastor, isn’t it?
-- pastors like to see growing churches -- they like to see large numbers on Sunday mornings -- it validates them -- it lets them know that they’re doing good -- and so some pastors become careful in their sermons so they don’t alienate the crowd -- so they don’t lose what they’ve got -- they stay safe in their sermon topics and in their teachings
-- so, when Jesus sees the crowd here in Matthew 5 and goes up on top of a mountain to preach, that’s kind of what you expect to hear -- that’s probably what his disciples expected to hear -- and what does Jesus do? -- He gives them the Beatitudes -- He calls the people to do more than just come to church -- He calls them to live out their faith -- and then He caps it with this final Beatitude -- “blessed are you when you are persecuted -- blessed are you when you come and die”
-- now that’s hardly a sermon that will win friends and influence people -- that’s hardly a message that will keep the crowds coming and the church rolls filled -- I can just imagine Peter and John standing there cringing as Jesus delivered these words -- “Come on, Jesus -- we had them -- look at this crowd -- look at all these people -- we’re finally getting somewhere and you had to go and ruin it all by telling them that they will die if they follow you”

-- as I was working on this message, I looked out into my backyard and saw a bunch of chickens and one lonely pig -- and that reminded me of a story I heard one time about a chicken and a pig who were walking down the street -- and, as they passed by a restaurant, they noticed a sign in the window that said, "eggs and bacon wanted" -- the chicken looked at the pig and said, "we should go in and help" -- the pig said "I don't think so" -- the chicken said, "why not?" -- the pig said, "because for you it's a contribution -- for me it's a commitment"
-- that day, when Jesus looked out over that great crowd of people who had come to hear Him, He knew that there were a lot of chicken Christians out there -- people who had just come to Jesus for what they could get -- people who were attracted to Jesus because of the rewards of Christianity -- they liked the idea of salvation -- they didn’t mind making a contribution -- but they were just not willing to pay the price that Jesus demanded for holiness
-- so Jesus used these Beatitudes as a way to get the people to count the cost of following Him -- “if you want to follow Me,” He says, “there is a price”
-- in these Beatitudes, Jesus isn’t just asking for you to give Him part of your life -- He’s asking for you to give Him everything -- body, mind, and spirit -- even your very life
-- that is the cost of discipleship -- that is the price that must be paid if you are going to live for Him

-- the Bible tells us to expect persecution -- I’m going to give several verses here, so you might want to jot these down so you can look at them later
-- 1 Peter 4:12-13 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ’
-- in Acts 14:22, Paul and Barnabus told the disciples in Asia, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,"
-- Philippians 1:29 -- it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him
-- and 2 Timothy 3:12 -- everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

-- persecution because of righteousness -- persecution because of Jesus -- is the badge of the Christian and the cost for following Him
-- this was something the early church knew well -- from the moment that Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and led to the cross at Calvary, the disciples and the other believers lived in fear for their lives
-- even after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, persecution continued -- first from the Jews and later from the Romans
-- in fact, all 11 of the remaining apostles experienced hardship and persecution in their lives -- with 10 of them ending up as martyrs of the faith
-- Matthew was killed by a sword in Ethiopia -- Peter was crucified upside down -- Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during a missionary trip -- James was beheaded in Jerusalem -- and the Apostle John was tortured and sent in exile to the island of Patmos to live out his days in hard labor
-- even today, as we pointed out in the preparation for Secret Church, many believers around the world live in persecution daily and many give their very lives for their faith
-- right now, more people are being martyred for believing in Jesus than at any other time in history, including the intense persecution by Nero and Domitian and the other Roman emperors

-- which kind of brings us to the question, “Are we truly Christians if we are not facing suffering and insults and persecution in our lives because of our faith?”
-- Kyle Idleman puts it this way in his book, “I am not a Fan” -- “When is the last time that following Jesus cost you something? When is the last time it cost you a relationship? When is the last time following Jesus cost you a promotion? When is the last time it cost you a vacation? When is the last time you were mocked for your faith?”
-- shouldn’t there be a cost to following Christ? -- if the Bible tells us to expect persecution, shouldn’t we at least be a little uncomfortable as Christians? -- could it be that we are not living the committed lives that Jesus has called us to? -- could it be that we are just part of the crowd?

III. Committed Christians
-- C.T. Studd said, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to give for Him" -- Jesus is looking for men and women who are willing to sacrifice themselves for Him -- men and women not willing to settle -- men and women who are willing to stand up and pay the cost and follow Him -- men and women who consider a reward in Heaven as worth more than a cost here on earth
-- the question, then, is how do we become men and women who are committed to Christ? -- how do we become people of faith who have given all that we have so that we might be blessed in Him and receive the kingdom of heaven?

-- to answer that, we have to turn over a little farther in the book of Matthew -- to Matthew 16:24-27

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

-- in these verses, we read the steps to commitment -- to becoming a Christian who possesses all the attributes of the Beatitudes -- to becoming a Christian who is truly living out their faith in Christ, even though it might lead to suffering and hardships and persecution

-- the first thing we see in verse 24 is that this call to commitment is just that -- it is a call -- it is an invitation -- Jesus says, “if” -- if you want to come after Me -- if you want to truly follow Me -- if you want to walk the way of the committed Christian
-- Jesus is not going to force anyone to come to Him -- He’s not going to force anyone to love Him and to obey Him -- He’s just going to invite us to come and tell us to count the cost and then make the decision on our own
-- every single one of the Beatitudes included a blessing and a promise -- Jesus tells us up front that the cost to follow Him is high -- but He also says that if we follow Him, these are the rewards we can expect -- the kingdom of heaven -- comfort -- satisfaction -- mercy -- He says that we will inherit the earth and will be called sons and daughters of God
-- these are the rewards...IF
-- the choice is up to you whether you will be part of the crowd or part of the committed -- the choice is up to you whether you will just be a pew-warmer or if you will be on the front lines of faith

-- next, Jesus tells us that we must come after Him -- to come after Jesus means that we follow Him -- it actually implies that we follow hard after Jesus -- we pursue Him -- we chase Him -- we go where He goes -- we follow His footsteps and His path regardless of where they might lead
-- to come after Jesus means that we daily make the choice to follow Him and not the world -- to follow Him and not our flesh -- to follow Him and not our own wants and desires and wishes
-- to come after Jesus means that we let the Holy Spirit work through us and in us to transform us from the inside out into the person God has called us to be
-- Eph 1:4 says that God chose us to be holy and blameless in His eyes -- 1 Pet 1:16 says, "be holy because I am holy" -- When Jesus tells us to “come after Him”, He is calling us to follow Him and His ways so we can become holy like Him
-- Jesus never wanted us to be satisfied with just being saved -- He never wanted us to be satisfied with being part of the crowd -- He wants us to become committed Christians, sold out for Him

-- the next step on this path to commitment is to deny ourselves -- now this means more than just choosing to lay aside our wants and wishes and desires -- we already do that when we choose to come after Jesus
-- no, to deny ourselves means to go one step farther -- it means to disappear -- it means to forget about ourselves -- “to not even acknowledge or recognize our own existence” -- as John the Baptist put it, “I must decrease so He can increase”
-- Kyle Idleman writes about the time he preached in a tribal area in Africa -- after he was finished, he closed with an altar call that made clear both the rewards and the cost of following Christ -- two young men came forward and offered their lives to Christ
-- the next day, these men showed up at the house where Kyle was staying with bags on their shoulders stuffed with everything they owned -- Kyle asked the local missionary what was going on -- the missionary explained that by accepting Christ, these men “would no longer be welcomed by their families or in their village”
-- they were going to cease to exist for all intents and purposes -- by coming to Christ, they were giving all, even to the point of denying themselves and being shunned by families and friends forever

-- next we are told to take up our cross -- in our society, the cross has become just a symbol -- something that we wear around our necks or use as decorations -- true, it is a symbol of Christ -- but we have forgotten its true meaning
-- to take up your cross was to die -- the cross was the Roman’s most cruel form of execution, reserved for those criminals and rebels who they wanted to make an example of -- who they wanted to humiliate and shame even as they died
-- no one would willingly offer to go to the cross -- no one would ever think of taking up a cross -- this was something that was forced upon them -- to the people who heard these words of Jesus, the cross was a symbol of suffering and death -- certainly not an ornament to be taken up and lightly worn around our necks
-- Jesus is making it clear here -- to follow Him is to die -- to follow Him is to suffer hardships and trials and persecution -- to follow Him is to give everything that we have, even our very lives
-- C.S. Lewis puts it this way: “Christ says, ‘Give me all -- I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work -- I want you.
-- ‘I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it
-- ‘No half-measures are any good -- I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there -- I want to have the whole tree down
-- I don’t want to drill the tooth -- or crown it -- or stop it -- but to have it out”
-- when Jesus tells us to take up our cross, He is telling us to agree to pay the price -- any price -- any cost -- that there may be to follow Him -- it may cost us our job -- it may cost us a promotion -- it may cost us a good grade in school -- it may cost us our finances and our resources and our family -- it may even cost us our life -- but, this is the price to follow Him

-- finally, after we have died -- after we have taken up our cross -- Jesus tells us, “You are ready to follow Me” -- you are ready to walk the pilgrim’s way -- you are ready to be My disciple
-- this is the pinnacle of the Beatitudes -- this is where that arduous path to sanctification was leading -- to the place where we truly become committed followers of Christ -- men and women who have counted the cost and who have paid the price and who stand with Christ despite what the world may throw at us

IV. Closing
-- Nathan Schaeffer wrote, "at the close of life, the question will not be, "how much have you gotten? But how much have you given? -- not how much have you won, but how much have you done? -- not how much have you saved but how much have you sacrificed -- it will be how much you loved and served -- not how much were you honored?”
-- the life of a Christian may not be glamorous -- despite what some well-known preachers will tell you, it won’t be a bed of roses -- it won’t be all wealth and health and prosperity
-- Jesus promises that your life will be filled with hardships and trials and persecutions -- He tells you that you will be insulted and persecuted and have all manner of lies and falsehoods spoken against you
-- but He tells us to rejoice and be glad because great is our reward in heaven and great is His name

-- as I close today, I want to issue you a very specific call -- I want to invite you to come and die -- I want to invite you to leave behind half-hearted religion -- to separate yourself from the crowd -- and to come after Jesus, and deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Him
-- He expects nothing less from you -- He demands nothing less from those who call themselves Christian
-- so, as I close in prayer, join with me and give yourself to Him wholly and completely so that you may truly reflect His character and nature in your life from this point on
-- let us pray