The Persecuted

Pt 7 The Persecuted

The Persecuted

Matthew 5:10

It looked like the letter j, a short wide hook with a dot atop the vertical line of the letter, but it was in fact the Arabic letter ‘nun’ (’n’), the letter that begins the word “Nazarene”.

It was marked upon every home and business where it was suspected Christians dwelt. It was placed there in the summer of 2014 when the Islamic State made their way across Syria and Northern Iraq.

The goal was to eradicate Christianity from every nation in which the radical extremist Islamic terror Group called Islamic State, or ISIS for short, invaded.

Pray the Shahada and convert to Islam, Pay the Jizya (Tax on non Muslims), Leave the country, or die”.

These were the four alternatives that were offered, but only if they were lucky. Most often only the first and last option were given by the second rate soldiers. (Pray the Shahada or die)

Most often there was not an Imam or a learned man in the midst of the soldiers to correctly provide all four options according to Islamic Law, and so many were killed.

Fire, Crucifixion, Stoning or Decapitation were the forms by which the lives of the righteous were taken. I saw many of the images, for a man not desensitised by graphic video games and movies, it was disturbing.

In June 2014, as Isis made its way in the stifling summer heart across Syria and Iraq, the options were given in full to many Christians, and over 100,000 Christians chose to leave everything behind, rather than convert to Islam.

These are they whom the Bible refers to as “of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb 11:28).

Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of The Voice of The Martyrs organisation which helps and reports on persecution of Christians around the world, wrote;

“We are not all called to die a martyrs death, but we are all called to live a martyr’s life”.

Definition

Persecution: “The unfair, cruel, or abusive treatment of an individual or group over a prolonged period for beliefs which differ from those of the persecutor.”

The Blessedness Identified.

The Persecuted Set Aside.

The Righteous Ones Identified.

The Blessed Ones Now Unified

pray

Matthew 5:10

Is it my fault?

It is difficult at times to know why it is that people come against you. 

Sometimes it is a family member, sometimes it is one that you believed was a close friend. Sometimes it is a person you once greatly respected. 

And from what seems to be out of no where, they hate you.

Is it my fault?

You begin to question your self and to ask how it can be that such things are coming upon me. What did I do wrong? Why am I being maligned? Why do they hate me so?

When it comes from a world that advertises its hatred is one thing, but when it comes from those who profess to share your faith it is quite another.

Is it my fault?

In the west we are not yet persecuted as they are in other nations, not yet. 

In the west we seem to be persecuted emotionally rather than physically. 

I am not yet sure which I prefer. 

Emotional assaults, (especially by those you might love), are assaults on the mind and break the heart. 

The mind begins to question itself, seeking why it is that such is coming against you. Confusion begins to take hold and it is not difficult to ask yourself the question, IS IT MY FAULT?

The most painful of all the experiences is complete disillusionment, “how can this happen?” “Why did this happen?”

Disillusionment leads to confusion, confusion leads to a questioning of your own sanity, the questioning can lead either to depression or bitterness.

But the scriptures give answer;

Ephesians 6:12

John 15:20

First however we ought to ask, “is it my fault?

For Blessedness to be Identified we need to go through an inner interrogation before it can be known if you are being persecuted for Righteousness Sake, or is it deserved.

Turn to Jeremiah 20

He was a young man when he began his ministry. A young man who feared the people and trusted that they would not hear his words, but God told him otherwise and yet it still came to pass as he feared it would.

Jeremiah 20:7–9

There is a point at which you may come when the persecutions, the mocking, the hatred and derision, even from those you loved, takes you to the place of quitting and you cannot yet discern the reason for their hatred.

Jeremiah was certainly at that place in life. 

Paul was also there. (Keep a finger here but turn to 2 Corinthians)

2 Corinthians 12:15–16

We see the broken heart of Paul beginning near the start of chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians where he seems to work toward justifying himself to the Corinthians, but not for his own purpose.

He will not boast of himself, nor does he truly desire to defend himself for his own sake but for those who would deny him to their own hurt, and like Jeremiah it pains him greatly for he is enduring an emotional persecution by the very people he loved and the entirety of his motives are being put to the question by gainsayers and backbiters.

They are being drawn away from the Lord through their doubt of Paul and it breaks his heart. He is “jealous over them with godly jealousy”. The word is not used as a negative beloved, it is used as a heart breaking positive to those he loved who are being turned aside.

Trust me this is truly a heart break. The two main times you will ever feel this level of jealousy is if you are a parent who is losing a child to a wicked person or you are a pastor who loves the sheep the Lord has entrusted to him, good teachers also experience this via the care of their students.

From verse 22 he tells of all he has suffered for the sake of the gospel of Christ, more than any he knows.

2 Corinthians 11:23–30

“Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended and I burn not”.

No one can know the grief and the sorrow of emotional persecution for the sake of those you love until they experience it themselves.

Paul continues in chapter 12 and by verse 11 he is disappointed that he needed to speak of all that God has done through him that they may believe and trust him;

Being condemned when your ought to have been commended is not a great experience to the emotionally persecuted.

Mums and dads, and those of you who are spending yourselves for the sake of the ministry of Christ and persecuted for righteousness sake, you are in good company, DO NOT QUIT. 

BUT IDENTIFY IF THIS IS THE REASON! If so then the blessing is identified.

Paul testified these things because the people were being led astray and it is THEY WHO SUFFER FOR IT and he knows it. 

But he works on in spite of it because he KNOWS the WORK IS OF THE LORD.

He KNOWS THAT IT IS SATAN WHO IS DOING ALL HE CAN TO BRING HIM DOWN.

HE KNOWS IT!

And he is blessed.

So too Jeremiah. It came as a burden in his bones;

Jeremiah 20:7–9 

IS IT MY FAULT? 

YES…..NO!

Yes, if you are indeed living Godly in Christ Jesus, if you are attending to matters that you KNOW God has you attending to, If you are calling sin, sin and evil, evil and if you are living and loving the Lord and his word, people will almost naturally hate you, people that is, who are driven against all you stand for, people who are not “living godly in Christ Jesus”.

No, it is not YOUR fault, but their own.

Blessedness needs to be first identified. 

Is this “persecution” in the Biblical sense, or are you justly being rebuked and attacked?

Once you have examined yourself honestly before the Lord, and if it is due to your earnest heart in following after him, REJOICE beloved, rejoice. 

What is being testified in you is that you are BLESSED.

Philippians 1:28

Just as we noticed last week that the makers of peace are blessed and identified thereby as the Children of God.

So too we understood the sowers of division are cursed and can be identified as children of the devil.

So it is respecting our persecution for righteousness sake.

Persecuted for righteousness is BLESSEDNESS IDENTIFIED.

Matthew 5:10

Turn to Acts 5;

The scene is set before the counsel in Jerusalem. Peter and the apostles have been preaching, when previously they were in prison. 

They are now questioned as to why they did not obey the instruction of their rulers not to preach in the name of Christ. One of the rulers, “Gamaliel, a doctor of the law” (Acts 5:34) warned them of potential error against these disciples of Christ, and so they agreed but went on persecuting the men;

Acts 5:40–42

The world is going to set you aside, they will do all they can to separate you from the midst of them and will do all they can in time to come to even set others against you for the sake of Christ.

Jesus said;

John 3:19–21

In this the PERSECUTED ARE SET ASIDE.

They are hated of the world and, because your very life testifies of Christ, you will be all the more set against, separated from the world,  from false brethren, from your families.

Turn to 1 Peter 4

1 Peter 4:12–14

What is happening in the world today is a work of separation. A work of division that is first manifesting in the hearts of many, revealing the truth of where they stand. 

This same work will do its work in you to draw you ever closer to Christ. To strengthen your resolve… IF FIRST you IDENTIFY your BLESSEDNESS, that is the first point.

Understand that; for it will identify you all the more as the servant of Christ himself. 

Jesus said

John 15:20

Just as Christ was set aside, set apart from this world, the most perfect and most innocent of all peoples, God manifest in the flesh who came to sacrifice himself for the sins of the world, yet they separated from him in life, they shall also be separated from him in death if they will not turn.

THE PERSECUTED ARE SET ASIDE.

Matthew 5:10

Turn to Luke 2.

Jesus is a babe when Joseph and Mary brought him to Jerusalem, to the temple. 

A man there would meet them who had a promise of God that he should not die till he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

They presented the babe to the man.

We take up the account in verse 28

Luke 2:28–35

Hearts are being revealed in these days more than I have ever seen in my life. The more you live for Christ the more you will see the hearts of people revealed for who they are.

Persecution will identify the righteous and reveal the hearts of the unrighteous. 

We are seeing this manifest itself greatly in the world today. 

It is not only occurring in the Godless world, but it is also occurring today among family members, the tragedy of many sons or daughters employing all manner of excuses today to separate and dishonour their parents, not knowing the pain they cause.

The greatest evil is when they remove the grandchildren. You may as well rip out your parents hearts. This disgusting act was NEVER seen in previous generations, but is being excused more and more today. 

Beloved, its not your parents nor me who you will give an account to if you are one excusing such evil.

Christians, behaving worse than the godless of the world, lying and betraying one another, backbiting and judging hypocritical judgements. Calling good evil and evil good, this is literally occurring among those who claim Christ as their Saviour.

It is 2 Timothy 3:1–4 coming alive before our very eyes amongst both Christians and even Pastors;

All of this testifying that the hearts of many are being revealed.

Thereby;

The Righteous are being identified.

We see it respecting Israel on the world stage. I am not saying they are saved, but they remain the people of God who hold to the words of God in that which they do.

October 7th, 2023 was the worst day of their modern history, a day where thousands were murdered indiscriminately. 

All that is required of the world to end the war is the simple demand that the murderous evil terrorist groups lay down their arms, surrender and bring back the hostages they took in complete disregard of the Geneva Convention’s rules of war. 

Yet these war criminals are being REWARDED by the likes of our own godless government, to legally recognise a terror state within the Sate of Israel.

Such literal madness ‘reveals the hearts of many”.

The Righteous are being identified by the godlessness of the wicked.

  • Israel warns of impending attack on each and every building: who does that in war?
  • Who reveals their plan of attack BEFORE they attack? Who does so with pamphlets, telephone calls and audio warnings?
  • The nonsense claim of Genocide is the single most ridiculous claim I have ever heard. As if Israel could not kill ALL the Arabs in Gaza in a single weekend if they chose to!
  • Yet its these Arabs who continue to call for the genocide of Israel, and send their godless propaganda to an easily deceived world.

So much more can be said.

The Righteous are Identified all the more clearly as they are separated from the wicked.

1 Corinthians 11:18–19

God will reveal those who are approved beloved. Live for Christ alone and you will know it is you who are approved!

Matthew 5:10

Turn to Matt 13

Matthew 13:24–30

The Lord here testifying that a time will come when that which is desired in the world today will manifest itself perfectly in heaven tomorrow.

The world hates God and desires to separate the righteous from them. 

A time will come when they are forever separated.

Those who reflect God in this world, they persecute, they hate them, they “MARK THEIR HOMES AND BUINESSES” that they may identify them, they even kill them in order to be rid of them and then, as we had seen two weeks ago, celebrate their death.

But it will be the Lord who will attend to the ultimate separation. 

The first is at death, and we all die, the second is at the end of this world.

The parables continue in this passage in Matthew, Jesus explains the parable and then moves on to the treasure of a field, then a pearl of great price, until he concludes on the net cast into the sea.

His own summary in verse 49 he says;

Matthew 13:49

Are you certain you are among the Just?

Beloved I have seen far too many who profess to be Christians acting in the most godless way, even Pastors, and I am getting less and less confident of who is truly saved or no.

I am seeing the fruit of many and it is truly breaking my heart if the fruit I am witnessing is of the tree of life…!

In Matthew 7 Jesus said 

Matthew 7:22–23

Are you being persecuted yet? 

If not, WHY NOT?

2 Timothy 3:12

Nothing is seen separating you from the godless. 

How do you know you are saved if you have no means of identifying your self as the BLESSED?

Yeh, sure, you look great. You come to Church on time. You pray wonderfully. You look the goods on the outside as you long to be seen of men, but are your insides full of dead mens bones?

I am sorry if this offends you, I do not desire to offend you but to raise an ALARM IN YOU. 

ARE YOU PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE YET? 

ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU ARE AMONG THE JUST?

No, you don’t need to be persecuted to know…but it helps to know your witness of Christ is having an effect. 

Are you making enemies simply because you are standing for Christ?

DO NOT BOAST that you have no enemies beloved. It is not a boast that warrants praise, for our Lord had many enemies and does so to this day, so do all who will live godly in Christ Jesus.

A classic poem by Charles Mackay respecting this understanding;

“You have no enemies, you say? 

Alas, my friend, the boast is poor. 

He who has mingled in the fray of duty that the brave endure, must have made foes

If you have none, small is the work that you have done

You’ve hit no traitor on the hip. You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip. 

You’ve never turned the wrong to right. You’ve been a coward in the fight.”

It is no boast to say that you have no enemies, those who take a stand on the side of Christ and are unwavering will be persecuted. REJOICE.

FOR Jesus said MANY, not ‘few’. MANY are they who will claim Christ, and MANY are they who will claim their works testify for them, and MANY their will be to whom our Lord will say “DEPART FROM ME, YE THAT WORK INIQUITY”.

No persecution = no living in righteousness. At least not enough to SEPARATE you from the godless of this world.

Are you certain you are among the Just?

2 Corinthians 13:5

Hebrews 4:1

Revelation 3:20

The blessed will be unified, together once and for all. Matthew 5:10

IS THAT YOU?

Please come to speak with me if you are not sure, that is what I am here for!

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