Blessed are (IX) those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

If there was ever a place where the Kingdom is opposite from that of the World, it is here. How on earth can we be blessed in the midst of persecution? Interestingly, this beatitude (Matthew 5:10) is the only one that Jesus expands, telling us something of the what and the why (verses 11, 12). But let's start with “for righteousness’ sake.” In particular we can be persecuted because we are obnoxious! But it is interesting to me to note that some of cults who get it wrong about Jesus, but nevertheless do correctly teach Biblical morals, they are also persecuted. But what exactly is righteousness in this context? Well, poor and meek in spirt, pure in heart etc., etc. And some in the cults are certainly sincere. What seems to happen, is that moral lives expose the darkness in others. If, for example, others are stealing from work and you refuse (not obnoxiously), then their sin is exposed (John 3:20), and the best form or defense is attack!

So what is this persecution the Lord is talking about? Verse 11 reads “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” To revile means to to assail with contemptuous or opprobrious language, to address or speak of abusively. This can include mocking and shaming, belittling and insulting. And the sort of evil that is spoken against you can be accusations of self righteousness or simply outright lies that malign your character. Note that it is “for my sake.” I understand this to mean that these things come simply because you or I are simply trying to live for Him, and because of this spirits of the age are stirred up to plant these thoughts and actions in the hearts and minds of those who do not know Him. Remember our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).

Concerning the why or how, we read in verse 12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” The Lord knows what is going on and when we respond the way that He did enduring for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2) and refusing to revile when we are reviled (1 Peter 2:23), then we are suffering for the kingdom and we will receive the same rewards the prophets receive for their faithfulness.

Father, as always, we can't do this without You. We need Your courage to live the Christian life without compromise. But we can do all things Lord through You who straighten us. Forgive us when we fail and equip us day by day day to be rejoicing in hope of Your blessing, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, in Jesus Name Amen

More on peacemakers

In the midst of my thinking and meditating on the beatitudes,  the Lord has been reminding me how desperately we need peacemakers in the Church. Yes between denominations, but not only there. As our society gets further and further away from our Judaeo-Christian roots we are becoming less and less mature, both in the world and in the Church. It's all about me, my desires, my hurts, my rights, about how you have treated me with less than respect and honesty and integrity. As I write this, this morning the Lord reminded me how much I conformed to this in my own life and relationships, so I am not coming at this from a position of self-righteousness. In many things we all fail, many, all, me (James 3:2)!

I was reminded yesterday how often the world can be ahead of the church in reconciliation (though I believe God is always behind it). But the World is also ahead many times, in what it calls conflict resolution. I have observed that whatever works in secular psychology, always has Biblical warrant. In other words whatever principle lies behind these things, for example secular conflict resolution, it was already there, at least two thousand years ago, in the the Bible. The one that stood out to me this morning as I Googled “conflict resolution,” was the last resort point “Disciplining or terminating employees who resist efforts to defuse conflicts.” In particular there is a passage in Matthew 18:15-17 that instructs the Church how to resolve conflicts, and then, again as a last resort,  if all else fails and  “he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you like a tax collector” (verse 17).

The principles of secular conflict avoidance, discussion of what is involved, the how and the when and what of it all, are not all found in one place in the Bible, but they are all there. The who and the  how of approaching these things is clearly seen, for example, in Galatians 6:1 where the restoration should come through “you who are spiritual,” and “in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” In other words those who would be peacemakers should among other things be meek, poor in spirit and pure in heart! Whose responsibility it is is also found in more than one place. It is the responsibility of the one offended (Matthew 18:15). It is the responsibility of the one who caused the offence (Matthew 5:23, 24). It is the responsibility of those who are spiritual to work with those overtaken by a fault (Galatians 6:1).

Father, I come to You this morning asking that You would raise up peacemakers both inside and outside the church. I heard a talk this weekend Father that spoke of this decade as the decade of Bridge building. If ever there was a need of bridge building and bridge builders it is now,  in this polarized generation. Thank You for the verse that stood out to me this morning “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne” (Psalm 11:4). We need Your help Lord, You are in control, and You have been waiting, I believe,  for us to get on board with Your agenda rather than our own. We have messed up Father, but we are here this morning asking for forgiveness cleansing and re-commissioning. We pray to You the Lord of the harvest to thrust our labourers into the harvest in Jesus Name Amen

Blessed (VIII) are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God

The Scripture calls us as much as possible within us,  to live at peace with all (Romans 12:18), but this beatitude (Matthew 5:9) goes further,  and talks about those who promote peace between those in need of reconciliation. If making peace with those with who we are individually at loggerheads can be difficult,   trying to bring peace to warring factions can be doubly so! But it's Kingdom Work.   And perhaps the main reason that we who are   promised eternal life (John 5:24) are not immediately taken home to heaven,   is that we are left here to be Ambassadors.  Ambassador “as though God were pleading through us imploring others,   on Christ’s behalf, to be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).   And part of the reason this, and all other roles as peacemakers are difficult,  is that we have an enemy of our souls whose agenda is to kill, seal and destroy (John 10:10a).

It strikes me therefore,  that it is  no coincidence that this morning's beatitude  comes between that of the pure in heart, and the persecuted.   In particular in terms of being pure in heart in evangelism, our motives are important. Do we share the gospel out of a preacher's guilt trip, or to look good to our brothers and sisters?   In more general terms, I know of one situation where  a so called mediator was far from neutral, though he pretended to be. He was in fact seeking to limit the influence of one of the waring parties. It did not end well!   In terms of persecution,   a mediator can finish up being persecuted by both sides.   The point,  is that a go-between is often pressured by both sides,  to see and embrace their point of view, and to minimize that of the other side.

It can also be no coincidence that   I was remind yesterday, of the Colombia's  government  and Farc rebels peace deal that, after 52 years of war,   was agreed to in 2016. The speaker was telling of an incident that had happened at a secular conference.    There had been an emotional reconciliation between two individuals,  both of whom were feeling guilt for their part in the violence. The one was a woman who had been kidnaped as a child and was forced to be a soldier in the rebel army, the other was   from the army that opposed the rebels. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Lord was behind this, I mean it was certainly not the Devil!   But what struck me,  is that if this can happen in the secular, how much more should it happen in the church.   And we need to hear it again this morning “Blessed   are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”

Father the phrase “like father, like son,” comes to mind as I think on these things. Truly there is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 25). And we are never more like You Father when we, like Your Son are active in our role as peacemakers be it inside or outside the Church.   We need Your Grace Lord, and Your wisdom and courage and   tenacity,  and we are asking for it this morning Lord,  in Jesus Name Amen

Blessed (VII) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

The Scripture admonishes us to guard our hearts with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). The heart of the matter is the heart! Jesus tells us that out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19). It seems that what we focus on in our hearts, what we allow ourselves to dwell on, these things will produce fruit, either good or bad. And in fact our mouths will betray us, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

We need to ask ourselves what it is that we dwell on. Resentment can hide behind all sorts of things including apathy, disrespect, judgemental attitudes etc., etc. The Lord recently convicted me of hidden resentment, and when there is resentment,  we are moving in the direction of bitterness and malice. These things defile us, and those we love, and if we cling to them, we void the Grace that is available to us to forgive and even to love and pray for those who despitefully use us (Hebrew 12:15; Luke 6:28) .

I have gotten into trouble with Christians for talking about Jeremiah 17:9, even when I was primarily speaking about my own heart. The verse reads “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Some have gone so far as to say “That's Old Testament and not applicable to us, a Christian cannot be deceived!” But if it were impossible to be deceived, why would the New Testament admonish us not to be deceived (Galatians 6:7). And then why would the writer to the Hebrews tell us to exhort and encourage each other every day,  to not allow our hearts to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). Is this not why with the Psalmist we need to regularly ask the Lord to “Search my heart oh God, to see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23, 24)?

Father, thank You for this beatitude that promises that when with Your help we keep our hearts pure we will indeed see You.  Thank You Father that You have made a new heart available to us in the New Covenant (Ezekiel 36:26), but we sill need to guard it with all diligence. When we do this, we will see You more and more clearly in the here and now, and because we will be like You, we will see You as You are, in the bye and bye, Hallelujah in Jesus Name

Blessed are the (VI) merciful, For they shall obtain mercy

Years ago I was in a hurry to get a friend to the airport and was stopped because I was speeding. The officer after having taken my information told me “You were speeding sir.” 'Yes,' I replied. Somewhat taken back by my honesty, he said “What?” 'Yes I was speeding' I told him. “Go on,” he said letting me off. I told my friend “That's what I want when I die.” 'What' he asked. “Mercy not justice” I told him! Mercy can be defined as undeserved kindness to someone in need. The office was merciful, but he was not just. Justice is when we get what we deserve.  I had broken the law and deserved the fine he should have given. If we are poor in spirit we know we have fallen short of the glory of God and that the wages  of sin (what we get for what we did) is death, eternal separation from Him and from everything that is good (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

No one deserves to be saved, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6). We did not and do not deserve His mercy for we were dead in trespasses and sins, He showed His love and His kindness to us “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). So mercy, undeserved kindness, but what about need? Well, we were without Christ, separated from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Was there ever a greater need?

Into all of this Paul beseeches us by the tender mercies of God that we present our bodies a living sacrifice. This, Paul tells us is the only reasonable response to His tender mercy (Romans 12:1,2 NKJV). And part of being a living sacrifice is to be merciful to others. In particular, we pray in the Lord's prayer we ask God to forgive our sins in exactly the same way that we forgive others. This has to be one of the scariest prayers we are commanded to pray (Matthew 6:12, 14). The parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) comes to mind. If we do not forgive others after He has forgiven us so much, He will not forgive us (Matthew 6:14).

Father, this can be so very hard. When we have suffered so much at the hands of others, it can even seem like more abuse to be told we need to forgive. This does not mean it did not matter, nor that we should allow the other person to repeat the offence, but we need to forgive or we will not be free -either in this world or the next. So Lord we need Your grace to do this, and You know Lord that many times it is a process. Thank You for Your Mercy Lord as we wrestle with these things in Jesus Name Amen.

Blessed are those (V) who hunger and thirst for righteousness ....

For they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).  I remember first being attracted to righteousness by someone who simply refused,  on principle,  not to engage in dubious behaviour.  I did not know the Lord at that time, and I was beginning to experience the truth that “he who sins, is the slave of sin” (John 8:34).  And the Lord was calling to me through the witness of that man.  But we can get this wrong in other ways, turning righteousness into a bunch of rules. The Pharisees did that,  and Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees we will not enter the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). verse 20).

Part of the problem, is that if we think we have kept all of the rules, then we can look down on others who don't keep them like we do. It's called judging, and that is very dangerous. The point is that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, and in many things we all fail. Not only this with the measure we judge, we too will be judged (Romans 3:23; James 3:2; Matthew 7:1).  Paul before his conversion was doing this. In his pre-conversion state he could say concerning the Law that he was blameless. He goes on the say that this side of salvation he counted all things as rubbish in order that he might  gain Christ and be found in Him, not having his own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (Philippians 3:8, 9).

The motivation is key here. Am I doing my righteous acts to be seen of men? If so I have already reward my reward (Matthew 6:1).  Am I doing it to please others? This can be a form of codependence and people pleasing. Or am I doing it to please the Lord? Do I hunger and thirst for righteousness because it pleases Him? Am I one who loves His appearing, because when I see Him I will be like Him because I will see Him just as He is (2 Timothy 4:8; 1 John 3:2).  So where does this motivation come from? It comes from gratitude that I have been rescued from the slave market of sin. True righteousness is always preceded by redemption, and when this is my motivation,  there is no doubt I will be filled.

Father, thank You that Your ways are best. Draw us close to You Lord,  and purify us as gold and precious silver,  so that You may see Your reflection in us in Jesus Name Amen

Blessed are the ... (IV) meek for they shall inherit the earth

It's hard to know if this verse (Matthew 5:5) is simply parallelism, so common in Hebrew writings, of verse 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Both speak of humility, and in the first we inherit the kingdom, in this one, we inherit the earth. Some have suggested that verse 3 is about the inner attitude, and verse 5 about how we operate out of the inner values. I do not know the origin of the phrase, “Gentle Jesus meek and mild, wouldn't hurt a fly. ” It's well known, but it's not accurate! Well Jesus was not mild when He made a whip of chords and drove the money changers out of the Temple (John 2:13-16), He was not mild when the told the the scribes and the Pharisees that they were a bund of hypocrites (Matthew 23:13). On the other hand, Jesus described Himself as meek (Matthew 11:29). And just as the word “right” in English needs a context in order to understand whether it is the opposite of wrong, or as opposed to left, so too does the Greek word translated “meek” here, needs context. It is translated “gentle” in the above passage from Matthew, and “lowly” respectively “humble” in Matthew 21:5 in the NKJV respectively ESV.

Meekness, in the Biblical sense then, can be thought of as showing patience and humility and strength under control. And Jesus is meek, even when He is driving the money changers out of the Temple. And meekness here in the beatitudes is neither mildness nor timidity. It is certainly gentle when the occasion calls for it. It is gentle when He calls us to be, as He is when He invites us to take His yoke upon us. It is not being a doormat. Neither is it false humility. I like what Bill Johnson said to the woman who when complemented on her singing, had said that it was nor her, it was Jesus. Bill replied “It wasn't that good,” at least that is what he said he said! Meekness and humility is neither thinking more nor less of yourself, than you are in reality as in how heaven see you. I am His beloved child, and so are you. I have been qualified to be an inheritor of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12).

On the other hand, meekness, like love, does not boast, it does not manipulate to get its own way, nor is it willing to trample on others in order to get to the top. But if we don't claw our way to the top, how on earth shall we inherit the earth? As with all the beatitudes, the application is primarily spiritual, and our inheritance is primarily the one reserved for us in Heaven (1 Peter 1:4). However the application of 1Peter 5:6 “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,” likely has here and now, and hereafter applications.

Father, teach us to be meek in the Biblical sense of the Word. Help us to receive with meekness the words implanted in us by Your Spirit. Bring us to maturity Lord, so that we may be more like Jesus, in whose precious name we pray Amen