Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness Sake

[Music: Battle Hymn of the Republic plays] [Speaker 2] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] Hallelujah. We thank our God for today. We bless His holy name for His love and for His mercies. We thank Him for another opportunity again in His presence to continue with our lessons, the beatitude. We have been looking at so many things about it. We have looked at the merciful, the pure in heart, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the peacemakers. These are the beatitude that we have considered. And today, we want to move to the next beatitude in that Matthew 5, which is the blessedness of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. The blessedness of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. And if you look at that scripture again, Matthew 5, let's see that scripture where we have been looking at the various beatitude. We started, the Bible says from Matthew 5:2, that He opened His mouth and taught them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." And we are moving now to Matthew 5:10, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Let us have a word of prayer. Almighty God, we thank You for this time again in Your presence. We commit this meeting into Your hands. Our God, we pray, speak to our hearts this evening. Everywhere we are, reach to us as we consider this matter. Lord, blessed are those who are persecuted. Lord, meet us where we need You most on this matter. Encourage our hearts, instruct us in righteousness. Thank You, Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Now, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And I want to call your attention to what is said in that place in Matthew 5:10 and Matthew 5:3. If you look at Matthew 5:3, Matthew 5:3, it says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And when it gets to verse 10, the same thing was said. It says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." There are two beatitudes that carry the same blessedness. The first one is being poor in spirit. Those who see their dear need for God. Men who understand how much they need God. Who see their total inability. Who see their helplessness. Who see their need for God. Their dear need for God. Their urgent need for God. Blessed are such people. The Bible says for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And again, when it gets to verse 10, the Bible says again, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." So we are looking at something here very, very crucial, that when a man see his dear need for God, when a man see how much, how desperately he needs God, when a man live in the context of that and a man so seek God with such a heart, the Bible says that for such a man, the kingdom of God would be his own. He will get that kingdom. And now the Bible is now putting something again closely related. That blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. That for such people again, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now, I just want to draw something about this matter of theirs is the kingdom of heaven, theirs is the kingdom of heaven that we found in verse 3 and in verse 10. Now, when you look at the matter of persecution for righteousness' sake. Persecution for righteousness' sake. When you look at this matter of being persecuted for righteousness' sake. Now, you will realize that ordinarily, ordinarily, when it comes to the matter of persecution, when it comes to the matter of suffering for the cause of righteousness, when it comes to the matter of enduring troubles, enduring difficult situation and circumstances on account of righteousness, naturally, human beings, men, will chicken out. Naturally, men try to avoid being persecuted. Men will do everything to escape persecution. Nobody ordinarily look forward to persecution. And so, men that will stick to God when it will result in suffering, men that would pitch their tent with God when it comes to suffering for the cause of righteousness, men who will stand for righteousness in dying or in living, men who will not compromise, men who will not do that are men who also cannot alternate God. Are you understanding me? Are you understanding me? I'm showing you the link between verse 3 and verse 10. For anybody to have the kingdom of God as a blessedness, it must be somebody, it must be somebody that ordinarily sees his dear need for God and so he cannot alternate God. It is those kind of people who cannot alternate God, who cannot compromise God because they see their dear need for Him. They see that without Him they are completely finished. And so they are poor in spirit. They can see how much they need God. Such men cannot alternate God for anything. As a result, such men would rather suffer than compromise God. And that is why you are seeing that the blessedness of the man who is poor in spirit is equating again to the blessedness of the man who is persecuted for righteousness. Men who can alternate God will never be persecuted for righteousness. They will chicken out. They will seek the easy way out. They will look for a compromise than suffer. Why? Because they cannot see their dear need of God. They cannot see that God is the one that cannot be alternated in any situation. And so, when it comes to suffering for righteousness' sake, it is men who are poor in spirit. It is men who can see their dear need for God. It is men who have seen that there's only one thing they seek, and that one thing is God. They are not seeking two things. They are seeking only one thing, and that one thing they are seeking is shared intimacy with God. It is those kind of men also that you will find suffering for righteousness' sake. Now, let me use an illustration to explain this thing a little further. Now, the Bible says in Hebrews 11, the Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for. Let's see that scripture. Let's see that scripture quickly. Hebrews 11:1. Hebrews 11. It says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Another translation says, "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen." NIV says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for." When you look at all of these rendering, let me see what the Amplified says. It says, "Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of the things we hope for." What I'm trying to make you see is that you see that the word hope, hope, hope, hope is maintained in all the translation. Something is hoped for. Faith is the assurance of that hope. Now, the implication of that is that hope is the solid foundation for faith. Any time a man is hopeless, he will be faithless. Because faith is the assurance of what you hope for. So a man who is hopeless cannot be faithful. If hope is less, faith too will be less. If hope is full, you are hopeful, then you can be sure you'll be faithful. I'm using that word very deliberately, very deliberately. That there's a direct relationship between faith and hope. Anywhere there is hope, then there will be faith. And anywhere you see faith, then there is something that is hoped for. You cannot separate hope from faith. So hopelessness indicates faithlessness. Now, having said that, I will move a little further. Now, what that translate to mean is that once a man don't hope, don't have hope in something, the man cannot be faithful to that thing. Can I use an illustration again? Now, let's look at government workers, or any employee. Whether organized private sector or government or public servant, civil servant, let's look at any of them. Now, why do you see them working diligently, deliberately, consciously, for about 28 to 30 days of the month? Faithfully going to a particular place which they call the office or the place of work. And they are there faithfully. Sometimes they may not even be feeling very fine, they will manage to be there. They will struggle to be there. And even if they will not be there for very cogent and genuine reason, they will seek permission that, "Please sir, I will not be around." Why are they putting so much faithfulness into that thing? It's because there is a hope that after 30 days or 28 days or 26 days thereabouts, an alert will be seen in their bank account. There is a hope for something. They are hoping. Why they are so full of faith, why they are so faithful, it's because they are hopeful. Now, if you look at the trend in the nation today, where salaries are not coming, particularly for government workers, public and civil servant in different sector. And then the thing is not coming one month, two months, three months, four months. And for some sectors, you find people not being paid for five, six months. Now, you go and check those workers. You will also realize that their level of faithfulness begins to diminish. It diminishes like that, like that. Why? Because after 30 days there is no hope. What will you see them doing? They will start putting their energy and their strength into some alternative things. So that they can feed their family and they can feed their children. Those ones will begin to take their faithfulness. They will be more diligent in pursuing those ones. Why? Because in this one there is no hope. And so since there is no hope, there can't be faith. There can't be faithfulness. I'm showing you faithfulness and hopefulness, that there's a connection. Now, I want to bring this matter to what we are looking at in Matthew 5:10 and Matthew 5:3 that we are considering. I'm trying to relate something to you so that as a Christian you must get something clear. As a follower of Jesus, you need to understand that there is a serious connection between being poor in the spirit and being persecuted for righteousness. There's a connection. That's why I'm coming to. So I'm using all these illustration. Now, we are talking about the government worker in that illustration. They begin to pursue alternative things. You see, they have begun, they began to alternate their employer because there is no hope in their employer readiness to pay or capacity to pay for whatever reason the employer is not paying. They begin to alternate the employer, who is the government. They are alternating their faithfulness to the employer because there is no hope in the capacity, in the intention, in the genuineness of that employer. And so they are alternating their faithfulness into things in which they now have hope. Maybe some of them have farms. Maybe they started a small business somewhere to keep the family alive. Maybe there is something, I mean, just one or two other activities. Do you see that they've alternated the employer? Why? Because there is no hope. Once there would be a situation where they were sure that many months down the line something would still come, they would have remained faithful, faithful to the employer. They would have remained faithful to the employer. Are you following me? Are you following me? Now, look at it. When you see a man, when you see an individual, when you encounter any individual who claim to be a disciple of Jesus but when it comes to suffering for standing with Jesus, the person alternates Jesus. He refuses to suffer for righteousness' sake. He refuses to continue for the purpose and the interest of Jesus. Do you know the reason? It is because his hope is not in Jesus. His hope is in what he's compromising Jesus for. The reason why the person could alternate Jesus for his compromise or her compromise is that the person cannot see that the only person he really needs is Jesus. So you see that once a man is not poor in spirit in such a way that he cannot alternate God, then know for sure that such a man cannot also have the capacity to endure persecution for righteousness' sake. Because rather than endure with Jesus, since he is not poor in spirit, you know what the person will do? The person will alternate Jesus. He will alternate Jesus. And so you see the Lord Jesus bringing something together for us, that blessed is that individual who is poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God. And in the same way, that individual will be the person who will be able to endure persecution for righteousness' sake and so theirs is still the kingdom. The question I am bringing to you today, what I want you to ponder and really consider this evening is: are you somebody who can alternate God? That's the first question. Or if I'm to put that question in another way: are you alternating God? Is there something that you are alternating God for? Is there something in which you have hope, you have put your hope in something and your hope is so much in that thing, more than your hope is in God? And as a result, you cannot endure righteousness. You cannot endure persecution for righteousness' sake. If it comes to persecution for righteousness' sake, you would rather alternate. This thing comes in many ways. It comes in different ways. And I would like to say one or two things as we're looking at this matter that it comes in different ways. Now, let me give you this illustration. Why do you think that some individuals, in a bid to get jobs, will tell lies about their age? Will tell lies about their state of origin? Some even tell lies about their qualifications. But the more common ones we have today is this issue of official age and biological age. Why do you think men cannot just tell the truth and if it will mean that they will not get the job, or if it will mean that they will be at a disadvantage about that age? Why are they afraid about being at a disadvantage? Why can't they endure for righteousness' sake? Why can't they be truthful? Why can't they speak the truth? Why can't they? No, no, no, the right thing, the righteousness of this matter because all unrighteousness is a sin. No, I would rather endure for righteousness' sake. Even if it will mean that I will not get the job, let me tell the truth about this matter. Why are men not going that far? Why do they find it so difficult? It is because their hope in getting that job, in the benefit that will come from getting that job, is higher than the hope they have in God being able to provide for their needs. Are you understanding me? Are you understanding me? Such men, such individuals, don't have, don't have any understanding of what the psalmist was saying in the psalm when he said, "The son of a lion may lack and suffer hunger, but they who trust in the Lord, those who fear the Lord, they will not lack anything good." Such individuals don't know the secret of such life. They believe that righteousness is not sufficient. The fear of God is not sufficient enough to put food on a man's table. So their hope in the job being able to put food on their table is stronger than their hope in standing with God in righteousness and that God being able to provide for their needs. I'm talking about enduring persecution for righteousness' sake. And I'm showing you from some very, very simple, simple things before we come to some more serious things. Because we have not even defined the word persecution. Because persecution has to do with suffering for your belief. And persecution can take even more serious direction than what I'm talking about now. Persecution can be in very, very serious form. I may not be to go into all of that today, but I'm just trying to make you see that persecution can even be as, it can be as high, it can be as high as dying for righteousness. Persecution can be as, it can be as, it can be paying the supreme price, like Stephen did, like Jesus did, like some of the prophet did. They were put in between wood, log of wood, and the Bible, history told us that they were with sword, they were cut into two along with the woods. So persecution can be as high as that. But I don't want to go into that for now because we'll be looking at types of persecution. But I'm just trying to draw your attention today, what I want to do is to draw your attention to this matter of why verse 3 and verse 10 is sharing the same blessedness. That when a man is poor in spirit, it is only such men that can also be endure persecution for righteousness' sake. And so it is for such men that the kingdom of God is prepared. The kingdom of God is prepared only for men who cannot alternate God. For anybody who can alternate God for something, for anybody whose hope in one thing is higher than his hope in God, such people are not qualified for the kingdom. They will not be able, they cannot come to the point of suffering persecution for righteousness' sake. They will rather compromise. They will rather show their faithfulness in that in which they have placed their hope. That's what I want to draw your attention to. Why do you think, for instance, you find people inside the church today? In the church. Devout worshippers, that's not a bad thing. Committed to different activity groups in their churches, that isn't a bad thing. That's okay. Having different leadership positions in their churches, that's okay. Serving in different capacity, doing different things and making a lot of different sacrifices in tithes, in offering, in giving, giving to church project, building project, this project, that project, this and a lot of all of that. Of course, all of these they are not bad. There's nothing wrong with them. I'm only, I'm just wanting to, just like Jesus did when he said, "You pay tithe of even the smallest things, but you have forgot the weightier matters of the law." The weightier matter of the law that has to do with faithfulness, love, and judgment. There are weightier things. We want to look at some things in terms of how God looks at them. So I'm giving the example. I'm not in any way saying that the things we have mentioned, commitment to church, church devotees, being pre-active in some activity groups in different capacity of leadership in the church, these things are very, very good. But they are weightier matters of the law. They are things that are weightier than that. Now, these same people, when you find them in their offices, whether private or government offices, why are we talking about corruption today in Nigeria? Why are we talking about wicked practices in Nigeria? Is it somebody from outside coming to do something against us in Nigeria? No. For me, Nigerians are the problems of Nigeria. Nigerians are the problems of Nigeria. And I'm just trying to show you something from what I'm trying to say. I'm trying to make you understand something. I'm trying to call your attention to a very important thing. We talk about the policemen taking bribe. We talk about lecturers sleeping with students to award them marks. We talk about politicians embezzling money. We talk about leaders blinded by ethnicity and religious bigotry. We are talking about all of these. We talk about compromise, corruption in high and low places. Somebody was trying to illustrate this matter of corruption. He said it's a situation in which a child comes from the school and was told by the classroom teacher that they are to bring a particular amount for a project in school and it will be five hundred Naira. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education that brought that matter to the school told the principal that there is a need for students to pay for so-so project and the project will cost two hundred Naira. The principal went ahead, the officer bringing it from the ministry to the principal, told the principal the ministry we need so-so-and-so and it will cost two-fifty. When it got to the principal, the principal went to the teachers and told them this thing coming from the ministry, this thing will cost three-fifty, students should pay. When it got to the teacher, the teacher told the student that, "See, there will be need to pay for so-so project coming from the ministry and it will cost five hundred Naira." I hope we are seeing how at every bus stop somebody is adding something. The boy leave the school, got to the mother and told the mother, somebody was just illustrating the state of this nation and honestly it's a very perfect and fitting example. The boy gets to the mother and said, "Mommy, something is needed in the school and they said it will cost six hundred Naira." The boy has added his own hundred Naira. The mother gets to the father, "Your son came back from school and they are to pay for something. It is going to cost seven hundred Naira." I want to show you something that began as two hundred. By the time it got to the final person to pay, it has become eight hundred Naira. Then you say we are fighting corruption. So who is not corrupt? Who is to fight the corruption? How are we going to fight it? Now, that is not my cruise. That is not my where I'm really going. But you will be surprised that this line that we just drew now of different people at different bus stop adding different amount, on Sunday, you will see them in the churches. You will see them in different religious centers. Different religious centers. Not only churches, even other religion. But they are all common flocks, they are all common folks. They have the same denomination. Something divides them all. Something is common to them all. But I'm particular this evening about the Christian faith. Not as if it affects only the Christian faith. But the concern of Family Tent Ministry, the concern of discipleship is for those who call ourselves believers. And that is why I'm addressing the Christian faith. That's our focus. You'll be surprised that these individuals again on Sunday are active as the same active members in church, paying tithe and offering, giving to different purposes, busy, yes, for God's sake so to say, seemingly faithful to God. Are you following me? You will see them even after they have done all of that in the offices. You will see them Tuesday evening in prayer meetings. You will see them on Thursday for Bible study. It looks like their hope is in God. But their hope is not in God. That is why they cannot be faithful to God. And such people, they cannot endure anything for God. Because they could not even endure to tell truth about a simple matter for God. For God. Bible say, "Put away lying, all unrighteousness is a sin." They could not even endure to speak the truth. Is it this type of people that will endure imprisonment? Is it this type of people that will endure being killed for the gospel? Is it this type of people that will endure being insulted for the gospel? They cannot because even the simple, simple, basic thing of ordinary to tell the truth, not to add one hundred Naira to a project, they could not endure it. They couldn't endure it. Why? If men can alternate God in such simple, simple, simple things, you can be sure that as far as the project of heaven is concerned, as far as the interest of the kingdom of God is concerned, as far as the interest of the kingdom of heaven is concerned, this type of people, they are casualties. They are casualties. They are useless. They are vanities. They are emptiness. They are nothing, nothing to mention. As far as the interest of God is concerned. You will say how do I know? Look at the book of Luke. Look at the book of Luke, chapter 16. Just want to call your attention to some few things. We are talking about blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. And we are drawing our attention to why is it that people who see their dear need for God cannot alternate God, theirs is the kingdom of God, and they are connected with those who can also endure persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God. I want to tell you how I know that such men, they are useless. Such men as far as the cause of Christ is concerned, they are nothing to write home about. Because the little-little things they cannot endure, is a clear indication to heaven that we cannot commit greater things into their hand. We cannot bring them to point when we can be sure that if we bring them to point where they will endure greater things they will fail us. That is the position of heaven. Heaven says therefore if you have been unfaithful in the unrighteous mammon, the unrighteous mammon, you see what the Bible says, "Who will commit to your trust the true riches?" If God cannot see you enduring truth in the matter of hundred Naira, two hundred Naira, ten thousand Naira, three hundred thousand Naira. If God cannot see you enduring truth in such thing, do you think God will ever commit into your hand the true riches? If in the unrighteous mammon, in the things of this earth, in the ordinary things of life you could not be true, you could not display endurance for truth, you could not stand in righteousness, you alternated God because you want to get a job, you want to secure a job, you want to get a wife, you want to get a visa, you want to get out of the country. So many things to mention, the list is endless. If God could be compromised in those small-small things, in the unrighteous mammon, with God ever commit to your trust the true riches? God forbid. God will never commit to you the true riches. That is why He said, men like that, they are useless as far as the cause of Christ is concerned. Because the little-little things they cannot endure. It's a clear indication to heaven that we cannot commit greater things into their hand. We cannot bring them to point when we can be sure that if we bring them to point where they will endure greater things they will fail us. That is the position of heaven. Heaven says therefore if you have been untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Who will give you the things of heaven? Who will trust you with it? You that want to get a visa and told all kinds of lies to get it. You that want to marry a sister and told all kinds of lies to do so. You that want to get a job, you want to get a promotion, you did all kinds of dirty, shady things to do it. You could not stand and endure righteousness. You have been unfaithful in worldly wealth. Who will trust you with true riches of heaven? Who? Who want to trust you with it? Who want to trust you with it? Who want to trust you with it? And so you discover that anybody who is not poor in spirit, anybody who cannot see that God cannot be alternated, anybody who cannot see that Jesus cannot be alternated for anything, anybody who cannot be deliberate about his life that in my secret heart no other love must exist, no rival throne must survive, I must serve only Jesus. Anybody who is not poor in spirit to see his dear need for God, that God I need You and You alone I cannot alternate You, such a person cannot get to the point where they can be persecuted for righteousness' sake. They can't get to that part. Since their hope is not in God, their faith cannot be in God. Their faithfulness cannot be in God. Their faithfulness cannot be to God. And that is where I want to close tonight. I want you wherever you are to begin to look into your life and pray. Look into your life and pray. Look into your life and pray. Look into your life and pray. How is your life? Which kind of Nigerian are you? Which kind of person are you? Which kind of person are you? Can you endure things for righteousness? I'm still coming to the matter of persecution. I want to build on this matter gradually through the month. I want to build on it and I beg you wherever you are listening today, invite others, connect them with the link. Let us look at this matter in light of how, particularly as it relates to our national life as a nation. Nigeria is described as one of you know a fore-religious country in the world, but despite that reputation, when it comes to corruptness, when it come to rottenness, we are also at the forefront. Why are things like this? It is because men who gather inside our churches they are not disciples, they are mere crowds. They are just multitude. They are men whose values and orientation and philosophy about life is not different from that of tax collectors and sinners. It's not different. It's not different. So we are looking at this matter, looking at the blessedness of a man who can endure, who can suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness. And I'm starting with even enduring things for righteousness, before I come into persecution, defining persecution, talking about persecution. I'm trying to make you see that there is something, there is a tie between men who are poor in spirit and men who can be persecuted for righteousness' sake. I trust the Lord that we will meet again by His grace and mercy next week Monday to continue this discussion, to continue this fellowship, to look more into this scripture. Pray about your life. Where do you stand in this matter? Talk to the Lord for your life. Talk to the Lord for your life. Talk to the Lord for your life. Father, we thank You for this evening. Our God, we bless Your name. Our prayer, O Lord our God, is that Lord, Lord, Lord, may we be men who are found fit before You such that You can commit into our hand the true heavenly riches in the name of Jesus. Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, lighten our darkness. Let Your light shine into our darkness. Lord God, let Your light shine, shine into our darkness. Our darkness, give us light that we may walk in Your light in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's share the grace in fellowship. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [Speaker 2] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the life of singles and marriage through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission head. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM, adolescents and singles club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, family life seminars, regular school outreaches and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Rejoice filling station along Ijeere Road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles, familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all. [Music: Battle Hymn of the Republic plays]