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00:00:01 [Applause] [Music] today's scripture reading is from matthew 5 verses 9 9-12 blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of god blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you this is the word of god
00:00:51 praise be to god let us pray heavenly father we thank you for your word holy spirit we ask that you illuminate our hearts to help us see the glory of christ in jesus name we pray amen this is our sermon outline today who are the blessed why are they blessed and how do we become blessed first let's remind ourselves what it means to be blessed right jesus is preaching the beatitudes he is inviting us to an ultimate state of joy this is what this is what it means in god's eyes to be truly human people who live like
00:01:29 this are to be envied to be emulated even admired when we see people living like this right this blessed life we're supposed to say to admire them supposed to desire to live like them and the first one today blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god who are the blessed the peacemakers definition peacemaker a person who brings about peace especially by reconciling adversaries it's like standing in between two opposing parties who hate one another despise one another is a is a storm of hatred and anger and
00:02:11 rage right and you're standing in between and you bring about a calm a peace sunshine rainbows butterflies that's what it means to be peacemaker now why are the peacemakers blessed because they will be called sons of god why why are the peacemakers called the sons of god because they are behaving like our heavenly father peacemakers bear resemblance to god for he is the god of peace all these verses talk about god address god as the god of peace he is the god who created the heavens and the earth
00:02:54 out of the chaotic waters of the deep he is the god who promises a future where the wolf will live peacefully with the lamb when we become peacemakers right we are called sons of god sounds noble right sounds cool right it's not as easy as it seems romans 12 18 says what if possible so far as it depends on you live peaceably with all what does that mean it means that peace isn't always possible right those who were listening to jesus at that time they knew how hard it is to bring about peace because
00:03:38 their homes were not always at peace matthew 4 tells us the crowd that came and followed jesus right they were there were those with family members who were sick who were afflicted who were oppressed by demons now many of us know how that feels to have someone sick at home the stress level the tension can be higher right making or maintaining peace requires a great amount of self-sacrifice for both parties for the caretaker and for the sick right even to the point of suffering in silence right even though you're sick right
00:04:23 you're feeling discomfort you don't want to say anything right because you already you felt like you burdened the category too much already and you suffer in silence why you want to maintain peace you don't want to bring trouble being a peacemaker isn't is easy at all maybe maybe it isn't sickness for your family maybe it's the accumulation of frustration of one year of lockdown right the the frustration you have for one another the mean words the slam doors the shouting maybe you're you've seen your parents
00:05:04 relationship break down day by day and you you're trying to do little little things right to elevate the tension to bring about peace and you know that peace is difficult perhaps it's unrest at the workplace right where there are office politics rival camps or now with uh working from home and all that all the systems and procedures right may create a lot of chaos and a lot of confusion and a lot of tension how do we become peacemakers how do we become blessed because it seems like it's so much
00:05:45 easier to create trouble to add all into flame to gossip to bring criticism instead of solution to to pretend nothing happen instead of talking things out to demand instead of sacrifice to give up and walk away instead of trying to make peace how do we become peacemakers when being trouble makers is much easier now the truth is one cannot be a peacemaker unless they themselves experience peace with god and thankfully right we are given the good news of peace the gospel of peace right let us remember it together why is god
00:06:36 called the god of peace you see god desires that we live in the shalom and the blessedness of life by living under his rule and reign he showed us how to have peace with one another and how to have peace with him but we rebel against him we don't like it why because we can't have true peace unless things are done our way we are very simple people right as long as everything is done according to our way we are pleased right but if things are not done our way we are not at peace we are so selfish we are so
00:07:17 self-centered that we are not willing to humble ourselves to listen we're not willing to sacrifice ourselves to others as a result we become trouble makers instead of peacemakers not just for ourselves but for the environment for the people around us we become troublemakers but god's peacemaking efforts are relentless for all the trouble we caused right god would be just and righteous to just abandon us completely to just damn us to eternal separation with him however instead of giving up on us
00:07:59 he sends his son jesus to pursue reconciliation with us jesus isaiah 9 calls him the prince of peace reconciles to god by making the ultimate sacrifice dying for our sins he paid an enormous price for us to experience peace with god his death bought us forgiveness of sin and his resurrection gave us a right standing with god and these gifts we receive by grace romans 5 1 therefore since we have been justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ verse 11 more than that we also rejoice
00:08:47 in god through our lord jesus christ through whom we have now received reconciliation the gospel of peace came to us by way of the greatest peacemaker of all jesus christ and now we are called to bring the gospel of peace to the world second corinthians 5 all this is from god who threw christ reconciles to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in christ god was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation
00:09:29 therefore we are the ambassadors for christ god making his appeal through us we implore you on christ's behalf on behalf of christ be reconciled to god because we have received peace through jesus christ we are now ambassadors of peace to the world representing god to the world beseeching them to be reconciled to god to that degree that we comprehend our former separation from god and the gracious gift of reconciliation to that degree will we be committed towards peacemaking reconciling human relationships and
00:10:15 reconciling humans to god even even to the point of self-sacrifice to the degree that we appreciate the gospel of peace to that degree will we commit to become peace makers now summarize the outlying right for the first one who are the blessed the peacemakers why are they blessed because they behave like god who is the god of peace and how do we become blessed how do we become peacemakers by first receiving the gospel of peace we were once troublemakers but now we are brought to be with peace in god
00:11:03 jesus goes on to say this right peacemakers will suffer persecution there are times right where it will be like matthew 5 16 where people will see our good works and glorify our father in heaven and there are times when it will be like verse 10 to 12 which is our second partnership blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousnessing for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and answer all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is
00:11:45 great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you definition of persecution persecution is a retaliatory action against the revelation of the righteousness of god in christ which is represented or proclaimed by the faithful followers of jesus there will be two more times in matthew where jesus speaks of persecution in chapter 10 he tells his disciples i'm sending out i'm sending you out like sheep among wolves matthew 16 jesus said i will be persecuted i will suffer under the elders and i will
00:12:26 die and those who desire to follow him jesus said you must take up your cross daily and follow me just as christ suffered persecution to bring us peace so will we suffer persecution when we bring the gospel of peace to the world christians are destined to suffer tribulation for their faith persecution is all too common in the new testament church we see all these verses right acts 14 paul was going through the churches that he planted reminding them through many trials through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom
00:13:11 of god first thessalonians he wrote right i told you before right and now you are experiencing we must suffer affliction we are destined to suffer affliction our second timothy indeed all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted romans 12 just straight forward say bless those who persecute you it's like it's gonna happen so bless your persecutors philippians 1 says that christians are granted not only faith to believe but also to suffer for christ's sake hebrews 11 heroes of faith right
00:13:47 what happened to them some faced jeers and flogging and even chains and imprisonment they were put to death by stoning they were sawed in two they were killed by the sword they went about in sheep skins and goat skins destitute persecuted and mistreated the world was not worthy of them they wandered in deserts and mountains living in caves and in holes in the ground you know this i'm sure many of us have encountered some form of persecution living as a christian i remember uh growing up as a kid i would hear stories
00:14:24 about uh the adults and how they when they were teenagers those who were living in the 70s 60s 70s 80s as teenagers right how they would suffer persecution by their parents just coming to church alone this the parents come with a rotund and chase them out of the church some people were locked in their rooms not allowed some were disowned by their families for going into full-time ministry or just for getting baptized i'm sure many of us in fbc have experienced persecution of some kind i hope that uh during our live group
00:15:00 discussions we can share those stories why do people persecute christians well persecution is the violent reaction against the revelation of god's righteousness it's like you're trying to sleep at night right and and everything is dark and then suddenly someone turns on the light there is a violent reaction to it there's such a tension between the message and the way of life of christians on one hand and the mindset and the way of life of the world on the other hand that conflict is inevitable if you cherish sexual purity your life
00:15:41 will be an attack on those who desire free sex who love to just live well if you pursue self-control it's an attack on those who are obsessed who are addicted who are who are practicing access if you live simply and happily you will show the folly of luxury if you are righteous and you play by the book you will expose the crop and the greedy jesus spoke to his disciples this is what he said remember what i told you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will persecute you also
00:16:23 if they obey my teaching they will obey yours also is is as though right the gospel of peace has only two reactions either they obey or they will persecute you and history proves it christians are the most persecuted minority in the world this according to open doors usa more than 340 million of our brothers and sisters live in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination there's one in eight christians worldwide it's one in six christians in asia persecution comes in various forms
00:17:08 a divorce from spouse rejection from family fired from work church being looted and destroyed christians kidnapped and killed people forced to flee their homes and if authorities are involved christian gatherings are deemed illegal long prison sentences labor camps death penalties policies and laws imposed to restrict religious freedom and just before you think right or that one all these bad policies that restrict religious freedom only applies to those third world countries right victoria australia
00:17:49 just recently have this change and suppression bill right basically right if you uphold the biblical concept of marriage gender and sex you can be deemed a criminal whether it's a sermon whether it's praying for someone even parents teaching their children what god says in the bible about sex and gender and marriage these people are in danger of a fine or prison sentence or even worse they could possibly have their children taken away from them this is in australia followers of jesus christ will suffer persecution
00:18:35 so why are they called blessed the persecutors are called to rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven they are blessed for the earth is the kingdom of heaven what does that even mean this is the best illustration i got okay so imagine right jeffree chair comes to you and gives you a card right for whatever good you've done right and say i want to reward you this card is to show you that you are the citizen of sunway now everywhere you go in sunway somewhere pyramid whatever food you want
00:19:19 to buy whatever movie you want to watch whatever uh services that you want to have you want to go and play bowling you want to play escape room you want to go sunway lagoon you want to you need to go to a hospital you want to stay in the hotel all is free for you why you are a citizen of sunway yours is all the resources of sunway what does it mean yours is the kingdom it means that all resources in the heavenly places are made available to you all the spiritual blessings are poured out to you luke 9 for those for whoever would save
00:20:02 his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it mark 10 jesus said truly i say to you there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and land with persecution and in the age to come eternal life these are the promises of jesus for those who give their lives to suffer persecution to share the gospel of peace
00:20:46 and we see that rejoicing right jesus asked people to rejoice and be glad in the face of persecution we see that kind of rejoicing in the early church acts 5 when they had called in the apostles they beat them and charge them not to speak in the name of jesus and let them go then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name and every day in the temple and from house of house they did not cease teaching and preaching that christ is jesus
00:21:28 hebrews 10. remember those early days after you had received the light when you suffered a great conflict full of suffering sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution and other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated you suffered along with those in prison joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourself had better and lasting possession i mean just these two verses right suffering for preaching the name of christ being beaten right being warned not to
00:22:14 ever mention the name of jesus they rejoice because they suffered in honor of christ uh he this one is like you joyfully accepted suffering you joyfully accepted people looting your property because you knew you had a better and lasting possession i mean if you are in your house watching this uh i think this is the proper reaction where our head is in our hands and we are like how to prepare for this kind of persecution how can i rejoice and be glander when i suffer persecution for sharing the gospel of
00:23:03 peace i'd rather not be a peacemaker right when i see the new testament church i don't know i don't know me me josh i don't know if i'll be able to rejoice like them recently i saw a documentary on on the romanian church as well they they were under communism and they suffered great persecution the torture they had to endure there was there was one uh sometimes they will put them standing in a cabinet inside a cabinet in the cabinet all sides are nails and sometimes they stand there for hours sometimes for days
00:23:42 i don't know how long i would last i don't think i can endure that i don't think i can be like x5 i don't think i can be like the early church i mean just look around right in your living room now think about all the things that you have now if all your comforts in life are threatened right when they come for you and your loved ones and your property and all you have to do to keep the enemy away is to say jesus is not my lord jesus is not god jesus is not my treasure how would you react what would you do
00:24:28 i hope i'm not the only one who feels that way but i feel that when that moment comes i won't be brave enough i love my comfort too much i love my egg on my netflix my internet my bed how do we prepare for persecution let me offer some steps that we can think together start small do people in your life even know that you're a christian do people know what you do on sundays do people know that group that you hang out with on friday nights who they are do people even know that you're a christian are you living an incognito christian
00:25:21 life maybe start small hey i'm a christian yeah sunday i go church uh maybe learn how to prepare an account of your testimony there's a seminar on seven march by the missions team look out for that how to prepare a gospel presentation start small practice simple obedience we know of the habits and sins in our lives that we need to let go let's train ourselves let's train ourselves to deny ourselves of immediate gratification so that we produce patience and self-control and step by step as we deny ourselves daily we grow to
00:26:16 become like the apostles who told their persecutors we must obey god rather than men but for our context today right how to prepare for persecution discover heaven discover the treasures that are prepared for you in heaven jesus said great is your reward in heaven what are the rewards that are in heaven if you don't know them how can you rejoice in them if you are if you don't rejoice in them how can you face persecution the quote from piper jesus wills for us to have our hearts primarily in heaven our hopes primarily
00:27:00 in heaven our longings primarily in heaven our joy primarily in heaven there is no other way that you can rejoice and be glad at the loss of your earthly joys how shall we rejoice and be glad when these things are taken from us if we have not loved heaven more find out what future has been prepared for those who trust in jesus and may your heart find greater delight in the hope of heaven than the treasures of the earth discover heaven finally trust in the help of the holy spirit uh let me read you a story this
00:27:45 is corey ten boone who died in 1983 was a dutch christian who helped jewish people escape nazi germany during the war and who was herself imprisoned at the age of 52 she had the same question as a girl whether she will be able to suffer without betraying her lord jesus she told her father and the story goes like this daddy i am afraid that i will never be strong enough to be a martyr for jesus christ her father said tell me when you take a train trip from harlem to an amsterdam when do i give you the money
00:28:30 for the ticket three weeks before no daddy you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train father replied that is right and so it is with god's strength our wise father in heaven knows when you are going to need things too today you do not need the strength to become a martyr but as soon as you are called upon to on to for the honor of facing death for jesus he will supply the strength you need just in time corey said i took great comfort in my father's advice later i had to suffer for jesus
00:29:14 in a concentration camp concentration camp he indeed gave me all the courage and power i needed when corey ten boone was telling this story she was illustration she was illustrating first peter 4 12 to 14. beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you but rejoice in so far as you share christ's suffering that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed if you are insulted for the name of christ you are
00:29:51 blessed because the spirit of glory and of god rests upon you the promise of god is this when we suffer persecution for the name of christ enduring all sorts of shame and pain and the ugliness of evil the holy spirit will rest on us and and here it says the spirit of glory why because the holy spirit in that moment will remind us that this light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that indeed our reward in heaven will be so great so great so glorious that is worth enduring
00:30:39 persecution for the sake of christ that in the moment of the ugliness of persecution the holy spirit will help us experience and remember the glories of the great reward that we will receive in heaven summary who are the blessed the persecuted are they blessed because great is their reward in heaven how do we become blessed how do we prepare ourselves to be persecuted discover heaven discover the holy spirit let us pray father i pray for all of us right now maybe the degree of persecution is not
00:31:40 great in our lives many of us are experiencing comfort peace we cannot imagine a time where we will suffer persecution for your sake and we worry our heart is anxious we cannot imagine that we will be brave and strong enough to endure persecution we we are worried that we will deny who you are we we fear for our lives we are people who love our comforts we love our lives too much that we forget that you call us you say to us that those who desire who to save their life or lose it but those who give their life for the sake of the
00:32:35 gospel will keep it remind us give us the strength that we need every day to be peacemakers to bring the gospel of peace to the people around us even more this chinese new year help us to share the gospel with our relatives who may turn against us who may the situation may be awkward even maybe hostile but god gave us that strength to face persecution god we pray especially for pastor raymond cole then you will give him the strength he needs right now to love his enemies and to pray for them and that you will give him the words to
00:33:24 say as you have promised that you will give him the words to say to witness about you to his captors and to give glory to your name repair all this in jesus name amen
