PRECEPTS FOR LIFE
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SERIES: Sermon On The Mount
TITLE: Program 5 – We Are The Salt & The Light – Therefore Persecution Is Coming
FRIDAY (1/22/10)
OPEN
In all the noisiness of life, in all the rush and all the stress and all the pressure, what do we long for more than anything else? Isn‟t it a quietness? Isn‟t it a peace? A peace that just is like taking a deep breath and sighing and all of a sudden finding everything washed away. How does that come? Well Jesus came as the Prince of Peace. We‟ll talk about it today as we look at the Sermon on the Mount.
PART ONE
I‟m on what is called the Mount of Beatitudes. I‟m at the church that is run by a group of sisters here in the Galilee.
You know it was on this mountain that Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) And then He went on to tell us other attributes or the characteristics of those that belong to the kingdom of heaven and the blessings that will be theirs.
And as He brings these “blessed‟s” to a close, He brings them to a close with two things. First of all He says, “Blessed are
the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.”
And then He says, “Blessed are you when men will revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My name‟s sake.” (5:9-11) And He tells them to “… rejoice and to be exceedingly glad …,” for He says, “…great is your reward in heaven.” (5:12) He opens the Beatitudes with saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
He closes then by saying, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for theirs is the kingdom of God.” It‟s so interesting that just before He talks about persecution, He talks about being a peacemaker. Isn‟t that something? That we are to be the peacemakers. And yet as peacemakers we are going to be persecuted by the world. Well let‟s look at each one of them individually and what I want to do is I want to begin first of all with blessed are the peacemakers.
And I want to take you to Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 because in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 is that wonderful, wonderful prophecy, because it‟s a prophecy that has to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. And in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 it says this, “For a child will be born to us, and a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Where do we find peace?
Where do you find peace in the midst of all the clamor, in the midst of all the trauma of life, in the midst of the pain and broken relationships and the pressure and the stress, where do you and I find peace? We find peace not in our circumstances, because circumstances are never going to be the same but we find peace, Beloved, in a person and it‟s in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is called the Prince of Peace and it says, “…the government shall be upon His shoulders.”
It‟s talking about the government of your life. The stress comes off because you belong to God, because He‟s Abba Father, because Jesus is your Savior, because He is your Lord, because God is sovereign and He rules over all and you can rest in Him and you can trust in Him. He is the eternal Father. He is the Prince of Peace. And it goes on to say, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of His peace.” In other words when you and I believe in Jesus Christ, we have the Prince of Peace living within us.
But that peace
just increases, and increases and there will be no end to the increase of peace in your life and in my life because as we come to know Christ and as we walk with Him and as we live out the character of a child of God and the citizens of heaven what happens is more and more and more the stress comes off, more and more and more the pressure comes off. More and more and more as we mature we learn to rest in Him and to trust in the Prince of Peace and when we do that, what happens in our life?
You and I become more and more like the son of God because as He has made peace with us through the cross of Jesus Christ so then you and I step forward to make peace with others. To bring others into that knowledge of Jesus. I want you to go from here to Luke chapter 12.
And in Luke chapter 12, we see another scripture that is so important for us to understand. In Luke chapter 12 He goes on to tell us in verse 49 and these are Jesus‟ words. “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” In other words someday there‟s going to be a judgment. There‟s going to be a judgment of all those who do not possess the Prince of Peace, who have not believed in Jesus Christ.
There‟s going to be that judgment and the baptism that Jesus is talking about that is a baptism that is a very difficult baptism that He has to undergo is the baptism of the cross. Because it‟s at the cross that men are made at peace with God. It‟s at the cross that men are reconciled to God. And so He says that He has this baptism to undergo and He says, “…how distressed I am until it is accomplished!”
But when He hangs on that cross, the final thing that He says is, “… tetelestai, it is finished, it is accomplished.” And just before He‟s arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prays to the Father and He says this, “I have finished the work that You have given me to do.” (John 17:26) In other words what He‟s saying is this. It is accomplished, and what He accomplished on Calvary enables you and I to have peace among men with whom God is well pleased.
Now listen to what He says though. He says, “Do not suppose that I cam to grant peace on earth. I tell you, no, but rather division; from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two, and two
against three. They will be divided, father against son, and son against father and mother against daughter, and daughter against mother and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in law.” (12:51 – 53)
Now why? We think, “OK, He‟s the Prince of Peace. He came to bring peace.” He came to bring peace among men with whom He‟s well pleased but because when He comes into our life He sets us apart because we take on the character, the purity of heart, because we take on the character of Jesus Christ then it causes in the world animosity. And yet what are you and I called to do?
Well you and I are called to be reconcilers of men. We are called to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. “Blessed are …,” now listen carefully, “… the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” As Jesus came to put us who are at enmity with God back in peace with God so, my friend, Jesus commissions you and me to go and to carry out this wonderful ministry of reconciliation. It‟s in the gospel of Matthew that we‟re studying the Sermon on the Mount and the gospel of Matthew ends with Jesus‟ final teaching, with Jesus final instruction and then His words are truly finished because He ascends to the Father.
But His final instruction is this. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. And I want you to go therefore into all the world and I want you to make disciples of all men, followers of Me, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you…” And then He says this, “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
I want to take you to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and this is an epistle that was written by Paul to a church that was in conflict with him. And yet although he was in conflict with these people, and although they were mistreating him, and although they were demeaning him you find Paul trying to make peace with this church going out of his way troubled in his spirit until they be reconciled, unable to go about and give the gospel on a trip that he knows that he‟s to do because he‟s so concerned about this relationship.
Why? Because, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 this is what he says, “If any man be in Christ, he‟s a new creature;
old things have passed away; and all things have become new.” And he says, “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ….” (II Corinthians 5:17-18)
Now when he‟s talking about reconciling us, he‟s talking about taking 2 things that are separated and bringing them back together. Reconciliation means to unite two that are at enmity with one another, two individuals or two groups. You know of people that just have a job to be reconcilers between businesses and reconcilers between husbands and wives and reconcilers in families. Well you and I are given the ministry of reconciliation. Listen to what he says, “Now these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (5:18-20) Remember He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Jesus came to bring peace between man and God and now He gives you and I the same calling as sons of God. We‟ll talk about that a little bit more and what it means to be persecuted in salt and light when we come back, Beloved.
PART TWO
Peacemakers, but persecuted. It seems incongruous, doesn‟t it? But listen to what Jesus says. He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers …,” Matthew chapter 5, verse 9, “… for they shall be called the sons of God.” And, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (5:10)
Now He‟s not talking about a persecution that comes because you‟re mean or because you‟re ornery or because you‟re just stubborn or digging your heels in or because you don‟t know how to behave. He‟s talking about a persecution that comes because you‟re righteous, because you‟re living according to God‟s standard, because you‟re reflecting to others who Jesus Christ is and the fact that He‟s in you and He‟s made you different. He goes on to say, “Blessed are you
when men shall cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (5:11-12)
In other words when you are persecuted then you‟re put in good company because you‟re in the company of the prophets. Now I want you to know that as you and I become like Christ, more and more we are then separated from the world. And in that separation from the world, the world can see the contrast.
But we‟re not only separated from the world and the world‟s seen the contrast and the world not liking what they see because our righteousness, our good deeds, our behavior, our exemplary character then takes away the cloak or the covering that they have for their own sins and their own excuse because here‟s a woman like you, or a man like you, or a teenager like you living in the same circumstances, living in the same situation and yet not being ugly but being kind and being lovely and turning the other cheek and blessing instead of cursing, being gentle and caring about them, being merciful and forgiving.
And they see you and they see that‟s possible but they don‟t want it to be possible so they begin to persecute you. They begin to make up lies against you. They begin to insult you. Some of you know that unfortunately in a day by day existence because you‟re one believer married to an unbeliever or you‟re living with unbelieving children and they seem to gang up on you. And all I want to say is, “Oh, Precious One, Precious One. I know it‟s hard and I know it‟s difficult but don‟t look at today. Look at the future and know this. That there is a reward coming. Know that this is because of the sake of Jesus Christ and your reward will be great.”
As we look at this, as we look at the fact that we are going to be persecuted I want us to go to Matthew chapter 23. And in Matthew chapter 23, Jesus is speaking about the scribes and the Pharisees because He‟s talking to people that are persecuting Him. He‟s talking to people that are enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and yet they profess to know God. They call God their Father. So what I want you to see is that persecution can come from the world but persecution can also come from religious people and remember He says, “You‟re in the company of the
prophets.”
Well listen to what He says. He says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and you adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, „If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.‟”
He says, “Consequently you bear witness against yourself, that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.” (23:29-30) They‟re sons of those who murdered the prophets because they don‟t like the righteousness of Jesus Christ and they don‟t want others to be followers of Jesus Christ. So you can know and you can expect this, Beloved, that if you are a son of God, if the kingdom of heaven belongs to you, if Jesus is your King, if He is your Lord, if He is your master, you will be persecuted.
So what do we do when we encounter that persecution? Well, I want us to go to Hebrews chapter 11 because I want us to see in this Hall of Faith what God has to say and in Hebrews chapter 11, he‟s talking about people who by faith conquered kingdoms and performed acts of righteousness and obtained promises and shut the mouths of lions and quenched the power of fire but then he goes on to say this, “…and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection.” (Hebrews 11:35)
What is he saying? That great is their reward in heaven. He goes on to say, “…others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonments. They were stoned, they were sawn in two…. they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (11:36-40) Or complete yet, why? Because Jesus was yet to come.
Now listen, if they could do all of that in faith looking forward, you and I can do all that in faith looking backward and knowing what Jesus Christ has done for us, that He has come, that the debt of our sin has been paid in full and you and I can go forth boldly. You and I
can go forth in that strong confidence proclaiming the good news, that ministry of reconciliation that Jesus who knew no sin was made to be sin for us and they can be at peace with God. Now as you and I look at this I want you to go to 2 Timothy. And in 2 Timothy chapter 3 this is what he says, he says, “…indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted …,”
They will be persecuted. “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (II Timothy 3:12-13) And yet with that persecution you and I have to know and understand this: that we will never go through that alone. In Hebrews 13:5 and 6 He says that, “He will never leave us so that you and I can boldly say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me because our eyes are not on the temporal. Our eyes are on the eternal.”
Our eyes are on the reward. As Paul gets ready to die, he‟s going to be put to death. He‟s going to be martyred because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what he says, “…I am already poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; and in the future there is a crown of righteousness, laid up for me and not only for me but for all those who love His appearing.” And listen to what he says, he says, “At my first defense no one supported me, all deserted me; …” but he says, “… may it not be counted against them.” (4:6-8 and 16)
Why? There is that quality of mercy there. There is that quality of righteousness there. There is that desire to live life on a higher plane and in verse 17 it says, “
But the Lord stood with me … man may have deserted me, but the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion‟s mouth.” And he says and, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom;” he says, “to Him be the glory forever and ever….” (4:17-18)
Yes, you and I will be persecuted. It may simply be insults and those are hard to bear but you and I also can know that we are going to have that full reward.
Why? Because we‟ve been salt and light.
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