2003-06-06
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, I’m led to examine MT 5: 10-12 from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them! Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are My followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted.”
If we look over all the history of mankind, we have seen awful bouts of persecution of the innocent. Some examples are the persecution of the Hebrews by the Egyptians in Moses’ time, the Spanish inquisition, persecution of women by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the evil of the Nazis bringing about the Holocaust, the actions of evil dictators like Idi Amin, Manuel Noreiga, and more recently by Saddam Hussein. These are only a few of many instances of persecution of the innocent. When Christ uttered His Sermon on the Mount, He was giving God’s perspective on dealing with the deceitful and wicked human heart. It is a lifestyle too, one that each of us can choose to live even in the increasing wickedness of today’s world.
Let’s look at what God has to say about this in addition to MT 5: 10-12. Even at the time that God and Satan were having their interchange regarding Job, a man of great faith who God told Satan he would never be able to destroy, God remains in total control. JOB 2: 4-5, “Satan replied, ‘A man will give up everything in order to stay alive. But now suppose You hurt his body-he will curse You to Your face!’ So the Lord said to Satan, ‘All right, he is in your power, but you are not to kill him.’” We know from the ending of this story that not only did Job survive all the evil that Satan sent him, but that God restored his health, his family, and his prosperity as well. The lesson in this is that when a person is faithful to God, He will see to it that this person is protected. I believe Job is in heaven for eternity with our Lord.
David prayed in PS 56: 1, “Be merciful to me, O God, because I am under attack; my enemies persecute me all the time.” Remember that David was viciously persecuted by Saul and others, but he never lost His faith in God. Anyone who knows the story of David, knows that God did indeed protect him and allowed him a signal honor. IS 11: 1, “The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new King will arise from among David’s descendants.” That sprout is the one that grows out of the “roots of Jesse” [David’s father], none other than Jesus Christ Himself! We gain further understanding from God speaking through the prophet Nathan to David in 2 SAM 7: 12-13. “When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. He will be the one to build a temple for Me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever.” This is the Davdic covenant and promises that Solomon will build the temple, and Christ’s Kingdom will last forever.
We know that Elijah suffered insults from the wicked King Ahab in 1 K 18: 15-18. That led to his meeting with the prophets of the idol, Baal, and God sending fire down burning up the sacrifice and drying up the water in the trench around the altar that Elijah had built on Mt. Carmel [1 K 18: 38]. That was something the prophets of Baal could not bring about. In each of these OT stories, we can’t help but perceive God’s presence, provision, and protection for those who endure in their faith.
Such is the case also in the NT. I have to mention the presence of Moses and Elijah in the vision of the transfiguration of Christ in MT 17: 3, something which I’ve often said is proof that those who die in faith will inherit the Kingdom. We know that Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of Messianic Jews in his time. And yet, Christ brought about his conversion to Paul in AC 9: 1-6. Paul became one of the most influential people in setting up the early church and spreading faith in Christ to others. His epistles contain precious pearls of doctrinal and behavioral price for all believers from God. One may ask how do I know that all these people will inherit the Kingdom? The proof is in REV 6: 9-11, “Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God’s word and had been faithful in their witnessing. They shouted in a loud voice, ‘Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until You judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?’ Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of their fellow servants and brothers were martyred, as they had been.” The white robes represent righteousness and purity, two of the traits all who inherit the Kingdom will have. While all persecution doesn’t end in martyrdom, I believe in God’s omniscience. Think of the messages of 2 CH 16: 9, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him,” and RO 8: 1 & 28, “There is no condemnation for those who live in union with Christ Jesus…We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.” We can take comfort in God’s perspective on persecution and use this to hold on tightly to the faith we profess.
PRAYER: O Lord, one of the people who endured horrendous persecution was Jeremiah, Your prophet of old. JER 19: 14-20: 2, “Then I [Jeremiah] left Topheth, where the Lord had sent me to proclaim His message. I went and stood in the court of the Temple and told all the people that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said, ‘I am going to bring on this city and on every nearby town all the punishment that I said I would, because you are stubborn and will not listen to what I say.’ When the priest Pashur son of Immer, who was the chief officer of the temple, heard me proclaim these things, he had me beaten and placed in chains near the upper Benjamin Gate in the temple.” What You have given us in the Scriptures compels me to believe that he has inherited Your Kingdom. You are a compassionate, righteous and loving God Who helps us to see Your perspective on persecution. Through Paul, You have told us in RO 8: 17-18, “Since we are His children, we will possess the blessing He keep for His people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for Him; for if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share His glory.” Your instructions in 1 PET 3: 17-18 give us guidance. “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if this should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, a good Man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually.” We are given further illumination in 1 PET 4: 13, “Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when His glory is revealed.” The message is clear; we are not to fear persecution or even martyrdom for holding to our faith in You. You will bring us great reward for our suffering, because You are a just, fair, and awesome God, full of love for us. We humbly confess our sins and offer You heartfelt loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, trust, obedience, thanks, and praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
In my next message, I have been led by the Spirit to continue discussing Christ’s description of who will be in His Kingdom. MT 20: 26-28 comes to mind in setting the tone for this. “If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you want to be first, he must be your salve-like the Son of Man, Who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life to redeem many people.” We can examine our own lives and see God’s loving presence in them, if we will only do this. I have been redeemed from slavery to sin: from doubts about my own self-worth, from guilt settled on me by family members, from feeling that my life doesn’t matter and that I can’t make a difference for good, from ulcers caused by needless worry, and from a host of other actions of Satan upon me. This is accomplished by Christ’s atonement and my faith in Him. I believe we are benefited by examining our own lives (without guilt) to discover remaining sin, to expunge it from our lives, to confess it before God, and to bask in the warm glow of our awesome Abba’s love and forgiveness for each of us. Suffering for our faith in Christ is definitely worth the reward of inheriting the Kingdom.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn