Matthew 5:10-11
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
I am righteous when I have a right relationship with God.
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Self-righteousness is thinking that I can be made right with God by the things I do apart from His authority.
2 Cor 5:21
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Hard Truth #1
1. Persecution is going to happen for every believer to some extent.
2 Tim 3:12
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Phil 1:29
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
Psalm 33: 20-22
Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
2 Tim 4:2-5
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Hard Truth #2
2. “Our purpose on this life is not to pursue 80-90 years of personal happiness and die. Our purpose with the short breath we have is be a light to a dark world with the hope of Jesus Christ.”
1. A Standing Grace
2 Tim 4:5
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
a. Stay Sober
James 1:2-4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
b. Endure Suffering
c. Do The Work Of An Evangelist
d. Fulfill Your Ministry
2. A Forgiving Grace
2 Tim 4:16-17
16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
3. A Transforming Grace
2 Cor 4:16-18
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
This daily renewal is a transforming that conforms us into His image.
2 Cor 3:18
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
4. A Living Grace
2 Cor 12: 7-10
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
5. A Rewarding Grace
2 Tim 4:8, 17
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
How do your respond to religious persecution?
Matthew 14:17-21
17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
“Brokenness does not destroy the bread. On the contrary, it simply extends it’s reach.”
What if the things that the enemy brought to destroy you only made you more impactful?
What if God is saying.. “let’s take your life deeper, stronger, greater. Let’s make your love for people that much more open.” What if your emotional vulnerability became a tested, resistant faith that could endure more and more. When the world tested you to the point of breaking you it couldn’t because of a profound depth that you gained through your suffering.
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What if the loaves and fishes isn’t my stuff but is me?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. My heart,
soul, mind and strength is not broken, but it’s multiplied.
Without the breaking we live in the limitation of the ordinary but with the breaking we become extraordinary.
Mark 1:11
11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
“Do not desire chiefly to be cherished and consoled by God; desire above all to love Him. Do not anxiously desire to have others find consolation in God, but rather help them to love God.”
