Persecuted Because of Righteousness

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:10

After giving his eight main points – the Beatitudes – Jesus then begins to explain them, beginning with the last Beatitude:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Happy are those who are persecuted!” says Jesus.

“I’m not so sure about that!” says me. “I don’t like being mocked or ridiculed, let alone enduring something worse. Plus, I’ve got my rights. I don’t have to put up with anything from anybody. I’m an American! I’m not going to take this lying down! I’ll take it to the Supreme Court if I have to!”

But then the Supreme Court of all supreme courts – God Himself – begins to deal with me, reminding me of the persecution that Jesus endured for my sake. He reminds me that a servant is not greater than his Master and if Jesus went through it for me than I can go through it for Him and for the sake of others. The apostles in the book of Acts come to mind, and I marvel at how they went away rejoicing after being arrested, imprisoned, and beaten for nothing more than preaching the Good News.

Perhaps the greatest witness to me though came while I was eating supper in the cafeteria at the US Center for World Mission in Pasadena, California. I had gone through the line grumbling with friends about the lousy food (it wasn’t really that bad – most meals were quite good!) when I noticed an elderly Chinese man sitting at a table by himself. Since he looked up at us invitingly, we joined him. Our new acquaintance reveled in the meal that we spoke so disparagingly of, and though his English was very limited, we could all sense a joy and a peace, even a gentle glow about him that made it seem like we were in the presence of Jesus Himself.

As the conversation progressed, I was amazed by his positive attitude, his warmth, and his obvious love for the Lord and for others. It was apparent to all that his relationship with God went deeper than most of ours, and I wanted to glean as much as I could from him so that I too could know God in the deep and intimate way that he did. I wanted the contentment, the joy, the peace, the abiding happiness that He seemed to have. As it turned out, I would have plenty of time with Pastor John Ding as he moved into the dorm room right next to mine.

As we got to know each other more through a translator and we spent more time together, I found the secret ingredient that had driven Pastor Ding to develop such an intimate relationship with the Lord. It was persecution that did it.

Pastor Ding had been in a Chinese prison most of his life. Whenever they let him out, it wouldn’t be long before he was arrested for preaching on salvation or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ or some other doctrine that was forbidden by the government. They beat him, kept him awake for days on end, hung him by his thumbs, pulled out his fingernails, and did all sorts of other unspeakable atrocities in order to get him to forsake the Lord and stop preaching. Pastor Ding never did stop; the persecutions made him cling to the Lord rather than forsake Him.

Persecution is the refining fire that strengthens and deepens our dependence upon the Lord and our relationship with Him because it identifies us with Him. After all, when God allows us to endure persecution, He is not calling us to do anything that He didn’t already do in Jesus Christ. Contemplate this: God Himself – the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Almighty God – took the form of a man in Jesus Christ and allowed Himself to be insulted, persecuted, falsely accused, beaten and whipped, and crucified on a cross. And He did it with joy in his heart because of his love for you and for me. He did it that we might be forgiven our sins and live with Him forever.

The very thing that He did for us, then, God calls us to do for others. We are to share in the sufferings of Christ by living a godly lifestyle and standing up for Him. We are to declare the love of God in Jesus Christ even when it costs us something. And when we are persecuted for righteousness, when we are persecuted for our stand with Him, we are happy and blessed because we know we are being identified with Him.

Persecution is confirmation that we belong to God. And we know that because we belong to Him we have peace with God, abundant and eternal life, power in prayer, and countless other blessings. We are not greater than our master; if He endured persecution and even painful death for us, so that we can have these blessings, can we do any less for Him?  

Pray with me: Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me and for forgiving my sins. Thank you that I am right with you and I look forward to going to heaven and being with you forever. Please forgive me for whenever I have let you down. Help me to live for you, no matter what the cost. I want to be identified with you – you endured hardship and died on the cross for me – and I want others to see you in me. Help me to boldly stand for you at work, at school…continue praying according to your own life situation…




Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.

Blessed are you...Happy you will be!

Blessed are you…Happy you will you be!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:3-10)

 

A new believer came to me one time, complaining that he had given generous offerings, attended church every Sunday, and forsaken alcohol and marijuana, but the Lord still hadn’t blessed him! He was beyond upset – he was downright angry with God that He would promise something and then not deliver it. After a bit of conversation, I realized that my friend had a total misconception about God and how He blesses people. My friend was after a miraculous financial windfall – he wanted to hit the jackpot – when God was more interested in blessing my friend with a relationship with Himself. My friend wanted to jump through hoops to gain some material blessings when God was offering Himself and every spiritual blessing in Christ – knowing God, loving Him, experiencing abiding joy despite our circumstances, having that peace that passes all understanding, gaining the abundant and eternal life that comes from following Christ.

It is this kind of blessedness – a prolonged state of happiness – that Jesus offered his followers when he said “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” and the rest of the eight Beatitudes in Matthew Chapter 5. Jesus wasn’t telling everyone in the world to do this or do that and I will give you a blessing in return. Instead, he was telling those people who already knew Him, who were already committed followers, that if they would pattern their lives after Him by being poor in spirit, being mournful, being meek, hungering after righteousness, being merciful, being pure in heart, being peacemakers, and even being persecuted that they, like Him, would live under God’s reign, in the kingdom of God, and experience the joy and peace, the prolonged state of happiness that comes from knowing Him and knowing that He is in control of your life.

If you are like me, you might be saying, “Count me in, Jesus. That is what I want for my life. But I’m not sure I even understand everything you are calling me to be and I’m pretty positive I can’t live up to it all the time.”

Thankfully, for both you and me, Jesus knows that and knows us better than we know ourselves. He voluntarily went to the cross and died for the sins of the world – including yours and mine – so that we can be forgiven and can have new life in Him. And He invites us to live this new life free of sin and guilt and condemnation.

With that understanding, that the Beatitudes and the Sermon that follows are not about how to attain salvation but how to live in the kingdom of God, in the new life that Jesus offers all who believe in Him, let’s ask Him to lead us and guide us and reveal truth to us as we look deeper into His sermon, the Sermon on the Mount.

Pray with me: Lord Jesus, I know I don’t understand everything you taught but I want to try. And I know I can’t live perfectly for you, but then you know that too. Please forgive me for my sins, my failings, the things I should do that I don’t, the things I didn’t do that I should have. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Thank you that you rose from the dead and live to intercede for me and help me along the way and that you will greet me with open arms on that day when I will see you face-to-face. I can’t wait to spend eternity with you; in the meantime help me to live for you and be a blessing to others…continue praying as you feel led…




Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.

Setting the Scene for the Greatest Sermon Ever Told

Matt 5:1: Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

Imagine the setting, even better pretend you are there in Galilee in the first century A.D. You were there when Jesus of Nazareth was baptized by John the Baptist and a voice from heaven declared "This is my Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

And now, after disappearing for 40 days (you heard from one of his new disciples that Jesus fasted the whole time), Jesus is walking the byways of Galilee, healing the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming that the kingdom of God has come at last. You are amazed and filled with hope -- thousands are following Jesus, there is a buzz among the people, an electricity in the air, a sure confidence that God is about to do something great -- and Jesus turns away from the crowds and heads for an isolated hilltop where he begins to teach a few of his faithful followers, and you consider yourself blessed to be among them.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, or to put it another way, happy are you when you are poor in spirit, says Jesus, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you, says Jesus, when you mourn for you will be comforted. Happy are you when you are meek, he says, for you will inherit the earth. Happy are you when you hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you will be filled. Happy are you when you are merciful, for you will be shown mercy. Happy are you when you are pure in heart, for you will see God. Happy are you when you are a peacemaker, you will be called a child of God. Happy are you when you are persecuted because of righteousness, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

With these eight points -- often called the Beatitudes -- Jesus lays out some basic principles for living in the kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount that follows fleshes out the skeletal outline of the Beatitudes, and describes how a follower of Jesus can have the true happiness, the abiding joy, that can be had by followers of Jesus who allow Him to reign in their lives and fashion their lives according to the precepts in the Sermon on the Mount.



Pray with me today: Lord, I want to live in that place of blessing, that place of prolonged happiness. Teach me what it means to be a peacemaker, to be poor in Spirit, to be merciful, to be all those things you list in the Beatitudes…continue praying as you feel led...
 



Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.

The Key to the Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount – found in Matthew Chapters 5-7 – is one of the most extensive and important teachings of Jesus in the Bible. It is quoted often, from church pulpits to college classrooms to common sayings in everyday conversations. However, it is rarely treated as a complete sermon with interrelated parts such as main points, sub-points, etc. In fact, most pastors and commentators don’t teach it as a sermon at all but as a collection of teachings that they then interpret individually.

I believe that this is a mistake that takes away from the power of Jesus’ message and causes many misinterpretations of what He is saying. I believe that Jesus taught this sermon as a whole and we should study it as a whole. This is the clearest, most practical, and most logical explanation of what Jesus teaches us in Matthew Chapters 5- 7.

The key to understanding the Sermon on the Mount as a whole is twofold:

1) We must understand that Jesus is teaching His disciples – people who have already committed themselves to following Him – how to live in the kingdom of God, under God’s reign and authority. Living according to the Sermon on the Mount is not a prerequisite for salvation but is a privilege that brings blessings and happiness to the follower of Jesus. These are not new instructions to people He does not know but rather "Blessed are you – you will be really and truly happy – when you live this way."

2) We must understand that Jesus was using a teaching device not commonly used today where the teacher stated the main points and then expounded on them in reverse order. The Beatitudes then become the main points and the rest of the sermon explains their practical applications. Compare the Beatitudes and corresponding verses as listed below:

Matt. 5:10  Blessed are the persecuted…….is explained by Matt. 5:11-20    

Matt. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers……is explained by Matt. 5:21-26

Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart……is explained by Matt. 5:27-37

Matt. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful………...is explained by Matt. 5:38-48

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger…..is explained by Matt. 6:1-18

Matt. 5:5 Blessed are the meek……………is explained by Matt. 6:19-34

Matt. 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn…...is explained by Matt. 7:1-6

Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit…….is explained by Matt. 7:7-23

As we study the Sermon in the way we’ve outlined above, we will make some connections and discover some truth that will change the way we live. To help us along the way, for the next eight weeks I will be writing daily devotionals that will be based on the Beatitude and the corresponding scriptures for that week. 

Pray with me: Lord, I want to understand your Word and know you better. As we study the Sermon on the Mount, help each and every one of us to learn from you and to have the courage and fortitude to apply them to our lives. Continue to pray as you feel led... 

Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.