Jesus' sermon on the mount addresses so many topics for us as believers and for the non believers as well. In Matthew 5, Jesus starts with the Beautitudes and in this account by Matthew, I want to focus on the last beautitude that He spoke on.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Persecution comes in many forms and at times we may not see it for what it is. To persecute is to harrass, oppress, torment, afflict, torture, annoy and trouble someone persistently. But Jesus says "Blessed are you" when
they do these things to you for My sake. Blessed means to be divinely favored, to have good fortune and to be worthy of deep reverence and respect. We as believers are blessed when we are reviled and persecuted for Jesus' sake.
We may hear stories of how people in other parts of the world are continuously tortured and killed for declaring Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, stories about persons not being able to pray as they would like to and even the early Christians how they were killed for believing in Jesus and declaring His word. For us who have the freedom to serve the Lord and worship him freely, it should make us more than grateful. Many times our persecutions may not be in that form but it comes in other forms that hit closer to home, even at the hand of our loved ones.
I know a friend whose family turned against him for speaking the word of God. They oppressed, tormented and degraded him in any way they could because they did not want to hear him preach the word of God. Those same family members almost cost him his life, reputation and sanity because of the many evil things they did to him and said about him. Looking back he said, he never thought his own family would do those things to him but he loves them nevertheless because He realizes that Jesus was persecuted and we too will be persecuted for His sake. He's happy he went through that, now he has a testimony! Praise God!
Jesus said, "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." - John 15:20. Jesus' persecutions are comparable to what we have to go through. It is not too much for us to bear, we are more than conquerers through Jesus Christ!
In verse 12 it says, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Rejoice! Be exceedingly glad! How many of us can say that when going through persecutions? Not an easy fiat! But it is attainable! We have to remember that Great is our reward in Heaven!!! The Prophets, Jesus, The Disciples were all persecuted before us, so if we are partakers in the faith, declaring the word of God, we too are subject to the same decree.
Continue to persevere brothers and sisters in Christ! When going through those turbulent times, if you need to cry, scream, vent etc. do so in a way that honors God and pray continuously pray your way through it all. In the end, our reward is greater than what we have to endure.
God bless you!
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Persecution comes in many forms and at times we may not see it for what it is. To persecute is to harrass, oppress, torment, afflict, torture, annoy and trouble someone persistently. But Jesus says "Blessed are you" when
they do these things to you for My sake. Blessed means to be divinely favored, to have good fortune and to be worthy of deep reverence and respect. We as believers are blessed when we are reviled and persecuted for Jesus' sake.
We may hear stories of how people in other parts of the world are continuously tortured and killed for declaring Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, stories about persons not being able to pray as they would like to and even the early Christians how they were killed for believing in Jesus and declaring His word. For us who have the freedom to serve the Lord and worship him freely, it should make us more than grateful. Many times our persecutions may not be in that form but it comes in other forms that hit closer to home, even at the hand of our loved ones.
I know a friend whose family turned against him for speaking the word of God. They oppressed, tormented and degraded him in any way they could because they did not want to hear him preach the word of God. Those same family members almost cost him his life, reputation and sanity because of the many evil things they did to him and said about him. Looking back he said, he never thought his own family would do those things to him but he loves them nevertheless because He realizes that Jesus was persecuted and we too will be persecuted for His sake. He's happy he went through that, now he has a testimony! Praise God!
Jesus said, "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." - John 15:20. Jesus' persecutions are comparable to what we have to go through. It is not too much for us to bear, we are more than conquerers through Jesus Christ!
In verse 12 it says, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Rejoice! Be exceedingly glad! How many of us can say that when going through persecutions? Not an easy fiat! But it is attainable! We have to remember that Great is our reward in Heaven!!! The Prophets, Jesus, The Disciples were all persecuted before us, so if we are partakers in the faith, declaring the word of God, we too are subject to the same decree.
Continue to persevere brothers and sisters in Christ! When going through those turbulent times, if you need to cry, scream, vent etc. do so in a way that honors God and pray continuously pray your way through it all. In the end, our reward is greater than what we have to endure.
God bless you!
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