Read Matthew 5:10-12
Yayyyyyy!!!!! I’m Being Persecuted For My Faith!!!!!!!
Verse 10 says, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
It’s like, you can’t escape persecution as a follower of Christ. Isn’t that comforting? But Christians do Escape it by:
1. Compromising their faith, or
2. By caving to the demands of the unrighteous.
In the Olympics, they allowed men to compete against women in women’s sports. Why? A large committee of the Olympics voted to allow it. They had the power to say, “NO!” But some, out of fear, said “YES.” They feared protesters would target them and come to their homes, and protest and badger them and their family members, and post death threats. If that happened to us maybe we would cave also. But should we?
When it comes to our Christian faith, Jesus said blessed are those who are persecuted. Verse 11 goes on with even more examples. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people cast insults at you, persecute you, and say all kinds of false things about you because of your faith in Jesus.”
Verse 12 says what our response should be: Rejoice and Be Glad! Persevere! Why? Because the Kingdom of Heaven is ours, and great is our reward in heaven!! What is it about this reward that would make me want to rejoice, be glad, and persevere through the different forms of persecution?
To refuse to rejoice and be glad means we don’t have a clue how immaculate these rewards really are. In Romans 8:18, Paul says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.” Are you grasping this? The rewards of Heaven are SO GREAT, IT CAN’T BE COMPARED TO THE SUFFERINGS THAT WE EXPERIENCE BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH! There’s no comparison!
If we could grasp even a little bit of what this really means, we’d be more bold with her faith. We’d stand up for what’s right. We wouldn’t shy away from the truth.
If someone gave me a million dollars every time I REJOICED and WAS GLAD when I was persecuted, I’d be more apt to rejoice when persecuted.
Listen, the rewards in heaven that await those who are willing to suffer for Jesus are far better than a million dollars. There’s no comparison!
So God, when I face persecution, help me REJOICE and BE GLAD! Help me persevere because my reward is going to be exceedingly abundant in heaven! YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!
