Will I Be Persecuted? • Michael Sciarra

Introduction

to invigorate us even in the storm, even in the struggle, to trust Him, to live for Him, to depend on Him even more.

This morning we're going to be in Matthew chapter 5, looking at verses 9 through 12. Matthew chapter 5, verses 9 through 12. If you have one of the church's Bibles that you might have grabbed on the way in, this is on page 810.

Reading of Matthew 5:9-12

Matthew chapter 5, starting in verse 9 says:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Prayer

Would you please join me in another word of prayer?

Lord, this morning we ask you to make your word clear to us. We pray that we would gladly receive it and therefore that we would be able to live it out with joy. We pray that in these verses you would point us all the more to Christ and our hope in Him. That by your word this morning you would strengthen us for whatever life may bring as we serve you. And we pray that you would renew in us an ever-present commitment to serve Christ no matter the cost, to obey you no matter the cost, and to serve you. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.

The History of Christian Persecution

Christianity has always experienced persecution at one level or another. From the day of Pentecost until today, Christ's church has suffered greatly at the hands of unjust men, of a wicked world, of God-opposing people who therefore oppress God's people.

You don't have to turn very far, even in the book of Acts, to see persecution arising. As early as Acts chapter 4, the Jewish leaders are bringing Peter and John before the council. They're forcing them before them and quizzing them basically about what they're teaching and commanding them to no longer preach the gospel. In Acts chapter 5, the apostles are arrested and put in public prison, but that night they're freed by an angel. Then in Acts 7, Stephen is the first recorded martyr in church history.

In chapter 6 of Acts, Stephen was described as one of those picked out to be a deacon, and he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, full of grace and power is how Stephen is described. And he preaches the Gospel from the Old Testament before the high priest of Israel. And in doing so, he calls the religious leaders of that day and the Jewish society out for their spiritual hypocrisy, for their resistance to the Holy Spirit. He makes it very clear that they have rejected God's Messiah, Jesus Christ, because of their hard hearts and their stiff necks. And in response, they take Stephen out and they stone him. They bludgeon him to death.

And you turn the chapter, and in Acts 8 we see Saul persecuting the church, rounding up Christians. And over and over in the book of Acts, you do not see the church cowering. The book of Acts is the church triumphant, ever moving forward on in the mission that Christ gave them, to preach His good news even to the ends of the earth. They're empowered, filled with the Holy Spirit, emboldened in their witness, even amidst such grave opposition. They do not shrink back in fear, they do not hide. Instead they continue pressing on, preaching the Gospel, praying fervently, and yes, enduring much hardship along the way.

Church history tells us that this has been the reality ever since then. In 64 AD, Nero persecuted the Christians falsely. In 81 AD, Domitian becomes the emperor and imposes civic penalties and taxes on those who would refuse to worship him as a Roman god of some sort. In 250 AD, Emperor Trajan outlawed Christianity as a religion altogether. Imagine living in a society that says you're not allowed to worship Christ, that's not allowed to be part of your identity. Ignatius was then martyred. In 300 AD, the most severe persecution arose under Diocletian. He destroyed churches, he burned scriptures, and there were mass executions throughout the Roman Empire.

This is not just an ancient reality. Even during the English Reformation, which is fairly near history, mind you, there was great persecution. Queen Mary I, perhaps you know her nickname, Bloody Mary, in the 1550s, in just three years, from 1555 to 1558, executed close to 300 professing Christians. 300. It's like one every third day because they would not bend the knee to the Roman Catholic Church, because there they did not find Christ or His word held in high regard. They were trusting in Christ and Him alone for salvation.

It was in that time of the Marian persecution that there was a woman who was being convened before a man nicknamed Bloody Bonner. He was the bishop then of London, or a so-called bishop of London. She was being held on trial for her Christian faith. And he threatened her and said, "I will take your husband from you." She said, "Christ is my husband." He said, "I will take away your child." "Christ," says she, "is better than, better to me than ten sons." "I will strip you," says he, "of all your outward comforts." Yet she said, "Christ is mine, and you cannot strip me of Him."

The "One Key Truth"

How do Christians stand firm in such days, and in such times, and through such persecution, and threats to their life, and their livelihood, and their comfort even? Friends, we need to remember that there are Christians today, imprisoned, beaten down, likely being executed throughout closed countries, at the hands of wicked and vile men, who are opposing Christ and opposing His church.

How is it that Christians have so readily and ably and nobly endured hardship for centuries? There's certainly more than one simple answer. There's not necessarily a silver bullet there, but there is one key truth. Hebrews 11:26 tells us what it is. Like Moses, Christians throughout the centuries have considered the reproach of Christ greater than anything else. Moses in Hebrews 11:26, it says, "considered the reproach of Christ," Moses did, "greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward."

As Christians, we recognize that the worth of knowing Christ vastly outweighs and surpasses anything we could find in this world. Anything we could find in this world. Trying to put something that you have today and that you hold, even the most dearest things to you, even your most dearly and beloved family or most close relationships, those things that would feel like your heart is being ripped out of your chest if you lost them, you put those on the scale and it's like putting a blueberry on the scale compared to the riches of Christ, which is like a thousand tons. Christ outweighs them all. And so Christians have counted the cost, and even in joy, given up much and given up their lives for the sake of Christ, for the furtherance of the Gospel, for the integrity of their faith.

Ultimately, Christians endure persecution not because of their personalities, not because they're stirring up strife, not because of their preferences or personal ambition, but for the sake of Christ.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

And this is what we see in our text today. We'll begin first looking at verse 9 and our call to peacemaking, but understanding that even in our efforts at peacemaking, we will be held often times in reproach and scorn from the world, but we do not need to worry because these verses point us to the reward. Serving Christ comes at great cost, but contains a reward that surpasses any earthly comfort.

Look down at verse 9 with me and consider this first Beatitude that we're looking at today. We've seen all the Beatitudes so far. We've talked about, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," those who are lowly before the Lord because they realize their spiritual bankruptcy. They've come to understand holy God and His perfection and recognize themselves to not be able to measure up. And so they are those who in verse 4 are the blessed morning, those who have godly sorrow over their sin, who begin to hate it and loathe it. And then understanding even the depths of their sin, they are the meek, the humble. They humble themselves before their Lord, and humility then marks every interaction. And those who mourn and are meek are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Ultimately, a righteousness that is not their own, a righteousness that satisfies, the righteousness of Christ.

And having encountered the righteousness of Christ, they are themselves mercy, because they merciful, because they understand themselves to have received much mercy. And in experiencing all the joy of knowing God's grace and kindness in Christ, we're pure in heart, holy devoted to Him. These Beatitudes describe the character of every Christian, of every person who is a kingdom, is a kingdom citizen of God's kingdom, of what Jesus here calls the Kingdom of Heaven. These Beatitudes show us what it looks like to live a righteous life, to live a kingdom-centered, kingdom-influenced life in a broken and fallen world.

And so now we come to, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Understanding all these Beatitudes again in order, they're like a linked chain, is going to help us understand what it means to be a peacemaker. This is perhaps the most practical Beatitude. It's the most obvious Beatitude that you're going to be able to live out in action.

In order to understand what peacemaking is here, let's consider the blessing attached to it. "Blessed are the peacemakers," says verse 9, "for they shall be called sons of God." If you want to know what Jesus means by this phrase "sons of God," you need only to look to Matthew 5, verse 44, probably on the next page of your Bible. He says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father." And then in verse 48, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." To be sons of God is to be those who image God as our Father, who reflect Him. Think of your children. You want them to embody your good characteristics. There even is something of pride in us and happiness in us when we say, "That's my child and they look like me." We're happy in the amiable parts of our character when they act like us as well. You can think of the father who grew up playing a specific sport and is just overjoyed when his son picks up the same love and enjoyment of that which he loves.

We're sons of our Father in heaven when we reflect His good character and His will, when we love what He loves, when we reflect His truth in our lives, when we reveal the truth of God to others in our actions. And God is Himself a God of peace. How does God make peace? Romans 5 would tell us that we have been justified by faith and therefore we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2, verses 14 and 16 tell us that He, Jesus, Himself is our peace, that He might reconcile us to God. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that upon Him, Christ, was the chastisement that brought us peace. God is a God who is eager to make peace. Making peace is part of God's gracious character. It's part of who He is.

Understand this, that to understand the Gospel is to see a God who is not just angry. Perhaps some of us have been confused about God's holiness. And we've thought that it just means He's angry at sin, that it just means He's opposed to sin, which it does. He can't stand it. And yet at the same time, God is shown to be a God who loves peace, who loves sinners and is eager to make peace with them, to reconcile them to Himself, to bring them into close fellowship with Him. And it comes at great cost, the blood of Christ, who redeems us, who cleanses. Christ, the God-man, who lived a perfect life and was a perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sin. And who there was crushed for our iniquities. And the chastisement that should have been on us was on Him, and it brings us peace.

And so we, adopted sons of God, are to be peacemakers. It's part of how we mirror Him as His children. Christ, the perfect Son of God, is the one who leads the way in this. He is called the Prince of Peace, Christ our brother, the Prince of Peace. In fact, Colossians 1:20 calls Jesus a peacemaker because it tells us that He makes peace, same exact word as "peacemaker" here, He makes peace by the blood of His cross.

Matthew 5:19 at times has been rested out of its context. Both its entire biblical context and its immediate context. Jesus is not just speaking about doing away with hostilities in the world and ceasing wars and helping people get along in their relationships. He's talking about so much more. Jesus is talking first and foremost in peacemaking about the peacemaking that He is most concerned about: the cessation of hostilities between God and man. This is the peace that Christ has come to accomplish. This is the peace that Christ preaches. This is the peace He has established to bring us near to God. And so you and I, when we make peace, are those who earnestly seek the salvation of those around us. Peacemaking is essentially evangelism. It's not only evangelism, but at its heart, it is proclaiming the message that brings peace to those at war with God. Preaching the blood of Christ that cleanses sin, that removes the eternal wrath of God from those who put their faith in Christ, that takes enemies and makes them friends of God, that takes those who were distant and wayward from God and brings them into fellowship, closeness, relationship, union with Christ even, connection with God. When we are peacemakers, we demonstrate and proclaim God's love in all of its profundity, in all of its power. There's nothing that should keep us then as Christians from pursuing this peacemaking.

Baked into this, "Blessed are the peacemakers," this is the reality of those who are part of the Kingdom of Heaven, every single one of them, is the reality that evangelism in some kind of form is integral to the part of every Christian's life. We're all meant to be peacemakers. We're all meant to bring the message of peace to those who are far off. And so it's no wonder that when Paul talks about proclaiming the Gospel and sending messengers out in Romans 10, he quotes Isaiah 52:7, which says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." That's the part you probably know from Romans 10:14. But it continues on. "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'"

And so in the most basic sense, are you a peacemaker? Is peacemaking something that defines your life? Are you searching and looking for opportunities to reconcile people to God through the message of the Gospel? We are not all splendidly equipped for evangelism. Strangers are scary to many of us. Spiritual conversations are hard to initiate. Some of us can very clearly say, "I don't feel like I have the gift of evangelism." You know that Ephesians 4:11, "the evangelist that Christ has given to equip the saints for the work of ministry?" Some of you can raise your hand and say, "I know that's not me." And yet you can be a peacemaker. You can find ways to evangelize the lost, to proclaim Christ to them, to ask good questions, to simply be interested in them and establish a relationship. Perhaps you could think of the lost people around you and think, "Who is in close proximity to me, and am I eager to bring them peace? Am I finding some way to do this?" Do you know your next-door neighbors? They can be hard to meet sometimes. But do you know your neighbors? Do you know your co-workers? Do you know the person who checks you out at Vons or Trader Joe's or Costco every Thursday? Do you know their names? Do you know their spiritual status in any way, shape or form? These kinds of knowledge of people will help you be able to establish peacemaking relationships with them. You should be their friend, but your goal should help them to become friends of God. It's great if they're friends of Michael, or Scotty, or Ida, but it's better if they're friends of God. Much better. We'll bring them joy in friendship. But friendship with God will bring them everlasting peace, everlasting joy, everlasting happiness. We've come to experience divine peace and reconciliation with God, and therefore we want to bring that peace to others because it is the sweetest thing that we experience.

Peacemaking in the Church

Now, that's not the only reality of peacemaking. Peacemaking does include bringing the message of peace. That's primary peacemaking right there. But what else does peacemaking include? The reality that you've been reconciled to God and been shown immense forgiveness and grace and mercy means that your life should be marked by peace and grace and mercy and forgiveness and all the rest of the spiritual blessings that we inherit in Christ. And so we become God's agents for establishing peace in the world around us and especially in our relationships. And friends, this starts in the church.

In the church, the manifold wisdom of God has been made known as Ephesians tells us, He makes peace by the blood of His cross. Turn to Ephesians 2:14 real quickly. See that for yourselves. Ephesians 2:14, we'll start in verse 13. Says, "But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility." In bringing us peace, Christ has made all those who come to Him one. He's created for Himself one body. A body where unity and peace reign. Look over, probably on the next page, to Ephesians 4:3. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul says, "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called." And then in 4:3, he tells us that includes being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What is it that binds us together as Christians, as members of Christ's church? How do we become unified together? Peace is the cord that ties us together. Peace that's been won through Christ. Peace that's embodied in us. As together, we are humble, look at verse 2, and gentle. As we model patience and bearing with one another in love.

Colossians 3:15 also talks about walking in a manner worthy and tells us to put on the new self and says this, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called into one body." Friends, peace is the referee that blows the whistle on any action that's out of life, out of line in the church. Let the peace of Christ rule in you. Let it take control. Let it set the standard of behavior and relationship within the church. Paul does not mean here when he says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in you," that you're meant to feel peace deep down. Now, you do have peace that surpasses all understanding. But this feeling, this acknowledgement of the peace that we have is not what he's talking about. Here he is saying, "God has called you to peace with each other in the local church." And so peace, harmony, unity, and the well-being of the church is one of our top priorities when we walk into church on Sunday morning, when we think about our brothers and sisters, and interact with them throughout the week, when we pray for each other. So, if peace is a top priority, we submit other considerations: our will, our position, our natural desires, our wants, to the peace of the fellowship, to the unity of the church. You can think of Ephesians 4:3 again, "We maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," the bond of peace. Peace binds us together.

Puritan pastor, John Owen, used this illustration. He said, "Imagine a man collecting wood for his fireplace. He finds a good supply of branches, but they are of varied shapes and sizes. Some long and some thin, others short and thick. Some straight and others twisted. He binds them together with a rope and in one bundle easily carries them home." If we looked around at ourselves and we thought about the church at large, we're a pretty varied bundle of branches, aren't we? Some short, some wide, some tall, some mangled and knotty, some straight as a stick. But Christ ties us together with a bond of peace, with a cord of peace, a bond that has been purchased, wrought with Christ's blood. He's given us this bond of peace. Cut that bond of peace, and you sever the cord that Christ Himself has tied, that He's wrapped around us. So peace is a top priority for us in the church.

How can you be a peacemaker even in your relationships in the church? How can you pursue peace here? Number one, you can keep Christ and the Gospel central in your relationships. When Christ moves out of the middle of our relationships and what binds us together, we will find easy excuses to have tiffs and little wars with one another, to not pursue peace in close relationship. Do not settle to be bound together by anything but Christ. Let that come first. Establish your relationships there.

In Matthew 5, we'd be encouraged in our relationships to end conflict by refusing to postpone apology and restitution. You can look at Matthew 5, verse 21, where it talks about anger and murder. And it says, verse 23, "If you're offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser." Do not hesitate to make right when relationships go wrong. Do not postpone apology when it's necessary, repentance when it's necessary, and don't postpone and withhold forgiveness either.

Another way you can pursue peace in the church is to embody meekness and humility. "Blessed are the meek." How do we do that? Philippians 2 tells us we consider others more highly than ourselves, and even their interests. Friends, even their preferences, more important than our own. We would embody in Ephesians 4, verse 32, if we want to pursue peace, where we are tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven us. Think back to James 1:19 that we studied many months ago now. If we want to pursue peace, we'll be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We will bite our tongue if we must to keep peace in the church. Isn't it our words that so often get us in trouble and stir up strife? Perhaps one of the best things we can do to pursue peace in our relationships, especially with those that are close to us, is to mind our words and bite our tongue, so that we would not sin against each other. Friends, one of the ways that you can pursue peace in the local church is by praying for your brothers and sisters, by praying that God's love would be demonstrated in us with all of its power.

Peacemaking in the World

When we embody peace as a church, we embody what Christ prayed for. We live out what Christ prayed for in John 17, that we would be one as He and His Father have been one from eternity past. Peace is not just meant to be pursued in the church. We want to pursue that primary peacemaking, and evangelism, we want to pursue peace together here that embodies the Gospel and the peace that we have with God, and we want to have peace with our relationships in the world, in every setting that we find ourselves. We want to propagate peace in every sphere that we touch, and every area that we're in in life.

What are some uniquely Christian ways that you can pursue peace in the workplace, on sports teams, playing cards, mingling with others, wherever you find yourself? One, remember humility. Yes, Philippians 2 is speaking to the church and embodying humility, but you can embody humility elsewhere and count others as more important than yourself, realizing that your preferences, especially as a witness of Christ, do not need to always rule the day. One of the ways that you can pursue peace in relationships is when you find yourself in sharp disagreement, rather than simply railing against that which you think is wrong or that which you disagree with, perhaps you can begin to ask good questions and to be interested and curious about why someone thinks what they think before being condemnatory. You can again, like Matthew 5 tells us, avoid putting an end to restitution. Don't postpone putting an end to conflict by apology, confession, forgiveness. Imagine the power if you sin against someone in the world who doesn't know Christ and doesn't understand that level of forgiveness and you confess your sin to them. Or when they acknowledge their wrong to you, you quickly and freely forgive them.

Matthew 5, verse 41, continuing on in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus would encourage us, and this would be a way we could make peace in the world, by even serving one's enemies. "If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles," says Jesus. He would even tell us then to pray for our enemies. And would encourage us to have a love for others that overrules and is stronger than any hate. "You have heard," verse 43, "that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'" Perhaps a way that you could pursue peace even in turmoil in the world.

Blessed Are the Persecuted

So we want to be a church marked by peace, we want to be a people marked by peace. But we need to recognize that just because we're pursuing peace, that just because we have the settled peace of Christ in us, just because we have right relationship with God and we're seeking to bring others into that, and that's a great act of love and we're trying to welcome people into joy. Even though we would do the hard thing and seek peace in some of the strife in our relationships in the world, Christ is not promising us peace in the world. He's telling us, "Blessed are the peacemakers," first and foremost, a spiritual reality. And in the next verse, He says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted." The climax here of the Beatitudes feels like an anti-climax.

It's the Beatitudes are this reality that the future blessings of heaven are breaking into this world. All of these blessings, the Kingdom of Heaven, being comforted, inheriting the earth, being satisfied, receiving mercy, seeing God, being called sons of God, all of these things will be fulfilled most fully in eternity when we're with Christ. And yet, heaven has broken through, the Kingdom of God has broken through, and we experience these things at least in spiritual blessing today. And yet, we are here in a world that feels like it's pulling in the other direction. You and I are experiencing the great blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven in our lives and seeking to bless others with them, and all we find is opposition. We're persecuted. And Jesus says, "Blessed are the persecuted." "Blessed are you when others vehemently oppose you for your faith."

Jesus is telling us the blessings of the Beatitudes, the glories experienced today, even of the Kingdom of Heaven, may just end up giving you hardship in the world. These Beatitudes go against the grain. They embody the glory of Christ in our lives in a world that's dark and opposes Him. A life that embodies the righteousness of Christ in everything will be met with opposition at so many times, because we are in a world that is ruled by darkness and the passions of men, not by the rule of Christ. Jesus told us Himself even that if we follow Him, we should take up our cross and even be willing to die, not just to self, but actually for Him. "Blessed are the persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

Friends, there are so many who have gone before us and been martyred for their Christian faith, for embodying righteousness. They were not persecuted because they were loudmouths. They were not persecuted because they stirred up strife to stir up strife. They were not persecuted because they wanted their political agenda accomplished. They were persecuted for righteousness' sake. Stephen, stoned for righteousness' sake. Paul and Peter, tradition tells us, were crucified upside down, Peter, and Paul was beheaded in Rome for righteousness' sake. Polycarp, in 155 AD, was burned at the stake because he would not reject Christ, for righteousness' sake. Perpetua and Felicity, a noblewoman and her slave, in Carthage, they faced wild animals in the Roman arena in 203 AD, because they would not offer sacrifices to Romans gods, to Roman gods, for righteousness' sake they were persecuted. William Tyndale translated the Bible into English and was killed for it. They strangled and burned him at the stake in 1536. John Hus was burned at the stake in 1415. Jim Elliot, in 1956, was killed with four others while trying to share the Gospel with the Waodani people in Ecuador. And there have been many others. Even those who did not give their lives, but were greatly persecuted for their faith nonetheless. Are we willing to take up our cross and follow Christ in a trail of blood, and in the wake of martyrs of the faith? Do we consider serving Christ of greater worth even when the reproach of the world threatens our lives and our families, all that we hold dear?

In America, it largely seems like a foreign reality to be persecuted to the point of death, to become a martyr. Even while it seems like in our day and age, hostility continues to rise towards Christian faith, or Christian practice, or even Christian ideals, there is a level of calm in our society. Has a level of calm caused any of our affections to grow cold or stagnant? Have we let comfort and ease in our modern-day life pull us out of a mindset of serving Christ at any cost?

If you turn to verse 11, we'll probably see what is more often the case in our day and age. In verse 10, "Blessed are the persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." In verse 11, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." "Rejoice and be glad, your reward is great in heaven." Don't we see these kinds of realities played out in the world around us? Others reviling those with faith? There are many instances of those who have lost job opportunities, business opportunities because of their faith and sticking true to their convictions centered on God's word. Isn't it true that Christians can be maligned and mischaracterized because of what they believe? Whether it be their faith in Christ or that which Christ clearly taught. Isn't it true that the world would love to call us bigots, when all we're trying to do is lovingly proclaim the truth and reality of sin in a broken world so that people would look to Christ? In our society, you will not be honored for your faith. That's not a guarantee. And those days where men would be, seems to be waning all the more.

When we encounter opposition for our faith, perhaps even if we encounter great persecution for our faith, even here in our day in the United States, how will we respond? What is the reality that we hold on to when we experience confrontations of our faith? Verse 12 tells us, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Your reward is great in heaven. In part because you're like the many prophets who God's people scorned and did not listen to. But the key truth here is your reward is great in heaven.

The Heavenly Reward

Turn with me just a few pages over to Matthew 16, starting in verse 24. Here Jesus tells His disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done." Look at the cost of following Christ, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself," die to himself, "and take up his cross and follow me." The cross would have been a vivid image to those in Jesus' day. They knew it. They knew the horror of it. They knew the pain of it. They knew the spectacle of it, the humiliation even. And yet Jesus says, "Losing your life is of greater value than anything else. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it," because Christ promises life eternal. And He points to that in verse 27. "The Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done." Not that you will receive salvation by your works, but that your faith and the life that embodies your faith will be rewarded by Christ. Your reward is great in heaven, a true reward.

This is what all the Beatitudes are pointing us to, pointing us to that day when Christ returns, that day when all of these eternal realities come into the present fully. Heavenly glory. "Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven," the perfect reign of Christ over all things. "Yours then is comfort," perfect peace, alleviation from sin and all the trouble of the world, and true comfort for your sin. "Yours is the earth," where you will rule and reign with Christ for all of eternity. "Yours is true satisfaction," satisfaction in God, whose right hand are pleasures forevermore, says Psalm 16:11. "Yours is mercy," experienced now in great joy, but someday in the future experienced fully. You will understand the mercy and grace of God in heaven as you are there like you never have before, to its full extent. And there, like we read last week, "We will see God." And we will be called sons of God. Romans 8 talks about us being sons of God, and yet all of creation groaning and awaiting the revealing of the sons of God, meaning when Christ returns and we're given those glorified bodies, our sonship, our adoption is complete.

The reward of heaven. The reward of knowing God. The reward of being satisfied in Him and having perfect fellowship with Him. We've been given such grace to experience these realities now as a foretaste of what's to come. Friends, it is all going to be worth it. Any hostility, any hardship, any persecution, and every other struggle in this life will be worth it because of the joy of heaven, the satisfaction of God. Why would I be willing to give up my life and everything I own? Why am I willing to stoop low? Why would I be willing to suffer and die? Christianity promises an unchanging, an undivided, an uncompromising hope. God, His glory, our joy in Him forever.

Kids, are there kids in the room? I see some of you. One of you raised your hand. Kids, serving Christ is greater than the most fun you could ever have. It's greater than people liking you. It's greater than all the money you think you could accumulate in your piggy bank. All the presents that you long for. The sweetest and best thing for you is to know God. God gives you greater happiness, greater satisfaction, greater joy. He is a better friend than any other person. Trust Christ, you don't have to wait till you're a grownup. Trust Christ today, and all the joy of heaven is yours. All of the blessing.

Friends, we will gladly trade earthly treasures, earthly comfort for heaven's joys. Will we not? And then we can be like that woman who suffered that great persecution at the hands of Bloody Bonner, who was threatened that everything she loved and the things she cherished most would be stripped away from her, but we can say, "Christ is mine. You cannot strip me of Him." And so we become glad peacemakers, and even if Christ would call us to it, those who are glad and joyful in persecution.

Let's pray.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we pray that we would rightly value all of these eternal blessings you promise to us. Thank you that we can experience your peace today, your comfort today, the satisfying righteousness of Christ and satisfaction in you today. Thank you that we can know that we are your children today and have assurance of our salvation. Thank you that we can catch a glimpse of you and the glory of Christ today in your word. But Lord, help us long and not be satisfied for these fleeting looks, but help us long for the full joy of our salvation in eternity. And may that view of our heavenly reward, of being with you, of endless and perfect joy, inspire us to live lives of pure devotion to you. Help us to hold everything in this world loosely. And that we would rightly value Christ and therefore serve Him no matter the cost. Lord, strengthen us for the work that you have before us, even the small things that you call us to in faithfulness to you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.