Blessed Are the Persecuted
2 Corinthians 11: 21 -- 29
Introduction
1.
Beatitudes review, Matthew 5:3 –
10
2.
while peacemakers are blessed, not
every situation is one in which a Christian can be a peacemaker; sometimes God
calls us to be troublemakers; at least that will be the perception of other
people
3.
persecution is only bad if it
causes us to become something that God does not want us to be
Discussion
1.
What is persecution?
a.
A definition: "to harass in a
manner to injure, grieve, or afflict" "to harass with cruel or
oppressive treatment"
b.
not all persecution leads to a
blessing from God -- 1 Peter 4: 15 – 16
c.
preaching the truth without love
does not bring a blessing -- Ephesians 4:15 -- for example: it is not our
business to tell people that they're going to hell or even to tell them that
they are lost -- the gospel is God's power to save
2.
Some examples of persecution from
the Bible
a.
Micaiah -- 1 Kings 22
b.
John the Baptist -- Matthew 14:1
– 12
c.
Stephen -- Acts 6 and 7
d.
some more examples -- Hebrews
10:34; Acts 4, 5, 12; Revelation 20:4; 2 Timothy 3:12
3.
Understanding why persecution comes
a.
persecution comes because we have a
duty to perform or a message that we need to speak (we probably should pray
first)
b.
the persecution comes from someone
directly affected by what we have done or said
c.
the persecution goes beyond
rejection -- there may be personal abuse, perhaps slander, threats, or resort to
weapons of violence
d.
Jesus is our example -- 1 Peter
2:21 -- 25
4.
The sources of the blessings that
come through persecution
a.
there is first of all the blessing
of knowing that you have done or said what was right
b.
there is the blessing of
understanding that you're following in the footsteps of those who have suffered
before
c. there is the blessing of God's kingdom -- we have the example of Jesus in Hebrews 12:1–4
d.
we have the promise of Jesus in
Matthew 10:32 -- 33
Conclusion
1.
in
the Beatitudes, Jesus has told us where we may expect to find a blessing
2.
in the Beatitudes, we have the
example of Jesus who has lived these before us
3.
in Matthew 16:24 -- 26 we have the
challenge of Jesus