BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED Blessed are those who

BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great: for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5: 10 -12).

Blessed, Not “Happy” n n n Persecution is a fact of life for anyone “different. ” Jews were persecuted by Canaanites were persecuted by Jews. Every ethnicity has been persecuted But not “for righteousness sake. ” Ours isn’t a life of ease – 2 Tim. 3: 12

Causes of This Persecution n n n “For righteousness sake”. Why should this bring trouble on us? Folks don’t like to be shown their failures – 2 Chron 18: 7; John 3: 19 ff; I John 3: 1. 1 Peter 4: 3 -4 – It’s just “strange”. The Christian life is a rebuke of sin. Dan. 6: 1 -17; Heb. 11: 7 We stand in the way of sin

Our Persecution n n “To put to flight, to drive away, to pursue. ” It may be “reviling” – I Peter 4: 4 Physical – Acts 8: 4 Loss of material prosperity – Heb. 10: 34

Appropriate Reaction n n n Rejoice and be glad. We don’t “like it” – but it puts us in good company. Noah, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, etc. 2 Cor. 12: 8 -10; I Peter 4: 15 -16 It produces endurance – James 1: 2 f. Persecution helps us know ourselves. And set proper values.

Wrong Reaction n n Whine and complain – Acts 16: 25 Seek vengeance – Rom. 12: 17 -19 Become discouraged or disillusioned – Mark 4: 16 f One final “beatitude”: Rev. 14: 13