Mathew 5:10-12

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		$Matthew 28:1-20$

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Matthew 5:10-12

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

All who live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution

“Let’s open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 5, we’ll look at the last of the Beatitudes, and we’ll be looking at verses 10 through 12, Matthew chapter 5, verses 10 through 12. Read, follow along with me, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” How can we be happy or blessed when we’re persecuted? The Lord’s Jewish audience surely thought this was a strange thing to be saying. Because according to a Jewish mindset, to be persecuted was actually to be under the curse of God. It showed God’s displeasure rather than God’s favor. Here’s a Rabbi teaching “No, rather be happy when you’re persecuted, when you’re reviled, when people make fun of you. Instead of thinking it’s the curse of God, it may be that you are being blessed by God.” The idea anyway you look at it had to be revolutionary to Jesus’ audience. And I think it still is today. Maybe you’re thinking ‘I don’t want to study about persecution. I don’t want to think about it, I live in America where I am safe.’ Well, I don’t know about that. But if I read 2^nd Timothy 3:12 right, it says “And indeed, all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” That means that if you are in Christ Jesus, you’re going to suffer persecution, if you’re going to live a godly life, if you’re going to follow after the pattern of Christ, you’re going to perhaps encounter persecution in your life. He says you will suffer it. You’re going to be reviled at some point or other in your life for the cause of Christ. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “I give you my peace, but in this world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” We shall have persecution, we shall have trouble, we shall have tribulation in this world. You know, if you get out of the borders of our country, you realize that it’s very common for a believer to be persecuted. It’s not often that we are, but when we are, we’re shocked by it [in America right now]. Look at 1^st Peter chapter 4, verses 12 and 13, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exultation.” ‘Beloved, don’t be surprised.’ The Greek means ‘don’t keep on being bewildered’ actually is what is says. ‘Don’t keep on being bewildered by the fiery ordeal among you.’ You know, at this time they were burning some Christians. Nero was beginning his persecution of believers, and he would wrap them in pitch and he would light Christians in his patios and burn them at night during his awful parties. He would sew them into animal skins and let the wild dogs and beasts in the arena tear them apart. There was a horrific persecution of Christians going on, and so the idea of a fiery ordeal was something that the recipients of the letter here would understand. Peter’s saying, ‘Don’t be bewildered by this, but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing’, he says. The Lord is not asking us to enjoy the suffering and pain, but he’s asking us to be happy about the fruit that it bears in our lives. We don’t have to enjoy persecution, we don’t have to become some kind of Christian masochist, you know that ‘Oh, hurt me more, it hurts so good’, that’s not what the Lord is saying here at all. But what he is saying is, you know, the Lord has a plan in this, and if you’re persecuted, hang in there, because you know what, your Savior was persecuted. Jesus was persecuted. He was violently reviled. And now that gives us insight. Jesus said “Blessed are you, happy are you when you’re persecuted for righteousness sake.” I’d like to look at three stipulations the Lord gives in order for our persecution to be blessed. You never know, you might be persecuted someday. I grew up in a home where the home environment was not conducive really to my following after Christ at all. And I remember just being a little boy, I mean a very young boy, six years old, and having to make decisions for Jesus that would make my parents mad a me. And, I mean, it was difficult, it was no fun. But I can look back on those times now, and I’m really glad, because I know what it’s like to take a stand for the Lord, and I can also see how those little building blocks that the Lord was working into my life at age six, seven, eight, nine, ten, they helped me when I was 22 years old to say no to a whole way of life and to follow Christ another step. But I wouldn’t have been able to do that, had I not been prepared earlier. So maybe you’re experiencing some buffetings, some persecutions, some hardship right now. And it may be God’s preparing you for an even greater test, but you know, what I thought was the biggest disaster of my life turned out to be one of the greatest blessings. I was just at the Campus. I was born and raised in a Christian cult [he calls the Seventh Day Adventist Church a cult, which I wouldn’t go so far as to do, they are a part of the body of Christ, but way off doctrinally in some areas.] and this last couple of days I went back and I was on the campus where I went to college in this cultic group, and you know what? I was just praising God the whole time I was there. I was thinking, ‘You know God, if I hadn’t made this decision then, I’d be here, and if I’d made this decision over there, I would be over here.’ Instead, God was with me all the way, just guiding my life, directing my life, ordering my footsteps. And I didn’t know anything about it. I was just sort of the dummy going along for the ride, you know. But the Lord was in control of it all. And I praise his name that he saved me from some things, and some things that I thought were horrible disasters turned out to be the greatest blessings of my entire life. And I just want you to know, that maybe you’re in that hard time right now, and I want you to know that God can turn this all around. It may be an awful corner, a dark stage, the tunnel you’re going into right now. But you’re going to come out, and it’s going to be an incredible view on the other side. Just trust God if you’re a Christian here tonight, trust the Lord. If you’re not a Christian here tonight, you don’t have anything to trust in. And I can’t say that there’s a whole lot of hope for you, but I can say that there is hope for you in Jesus Christ, if you’ll give your life to Christ. The Bible says that the Lord can take all the things that happened in your life, and he can work them together for good, if you’ll accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. For Christians here tonight, Jesus can work everything together for good in your life. And he is at work doing that right now. It doesn’t say everything is good that happens to you, but everything that comes at you he will turn around and work for your ultimate good and his glory in your life. If you’re not a Christian that isn’t true, life becomes a tragedy, and you try to blank it out with drugs, or with pleasures of this world, or somehow drown it out to just try to get by in life. But you don’t have to live that way. You don’t have to live just getting by. Jesus says ‘I came to give life, and to give it more abundantly.’ And if you’re a Christian here, and you’re not living that kind of abundant life, why not? Even in the midst of these difficult times of persecution he says “But to the degree” verse 13 “that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing.” Rejoicing, keep on rejoicing, don’t cave in.

The three stipulations for persecution to be blessed

Number 1: It’s got to be for the sake of righteousness

In order for persecution to be blessed there are three stipulations. Jesus said “Blessed are you when you suffer for the sake of righteousness.” Don’t bring trouble on yourself by being obnoxious. Look a 1^st Peter 3:15. Have you ever met the obnoxious Christian? [yeah, I’ve met quite a few, and before I grew in the Lord, I was one, but as a babe.] Sometimes, you know, and if this is you, I am not talking about you [laughter]. But have you ever run into the Christian car that has got, instead of a paint job it’s got a bumper-sticker job on it [they’re probably holding the body together], and it’s all these verses and everything? I’m telling you, you’d better drive perfectly [laughter]. When you put that on your car, you are advertising for Jesus, and you had better not drive under the speed limit, don’t drive over the speed limit, I mean, you had better be just perfect in what you’re doing. I mean, because, be careful, people don’t need this ‘in your face-ness’. I wasn’t drawn to Jesus by ‘in-your-face’ Christians. You know you need to be born-again!!! and all that stuff [laughter]. Nobody’s been won by that. I mean, that’s the Doberman Pincher approach, and it doesn’t work. [laughter, chuckles] Look at verse 15, “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you”---yet how?---“with gentleness and will reverence.” So it says, ‘Look, yeah, be ready.’ And the biggest way is that we are ready to answer questions. People are going to bring up questions today. They’ve always been bringing up questions, and everything that’s happening in our world is causing people to ask questions, and we’ve got the answer, amen? We’ve got the Word of God, we have the Lord Jesus Christ, we’ve got the answer. And of course you need to get the answers if you don’t have them as a believer, you need to know how to give a defense for your faith. [To prove how you know Jesus is the Saviour log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/1stcoming.htm . To know about the world to come after Jesus comes log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm . To know what the world is heading into log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm , just to name a few biblical teachings you may be asked about by nonbelievers, questions about the world around them, and how you can know Jesus was and is real.] But then he says, ‘Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart, get ready to give an answer, but then do it in a nice way. You don’t have to blow people away, you don’t have to get your “Holy Spirit machinegun out”, you know, and blast them. More people are won with love and understanding, and kindness then there ever will be won with harshness. So, don’t be obnoxious, and then don’t say ‘I’m really being persecuted’, and everybody around you is going ‘Yeah, I wonder why.’ And it’s just because you’re a nut. And I know nutty Christians and so do you. And if you’re one of those, don’t blame Jesus for your problems. Your problem is you, and you need to go get your act straightened out and learn how to live like a normal person, and get a job and take care of your family, and stop saying that the Lord’s telling you to do things that the Lord never did himself and never told his disciples ever to do. And I’ve bumped into those kind of Christians, I’ve been around them, and I’m telling you, they do more to bring shame upon the name of Christ than anybody else.

Number 2: And secondly, if you’re really being persecuted, the reviling must be falsely based

If you’re being reviled, the report has to be false. It’s got to be something that isn’t true. When they arrested Jesus, they began looking for what?---false witnesses---that they might have something against him. You see, he was living a good life, he had obviously been living a perfect life, and there was nobody there to come up with charges against the Lord. So they had to hire people, let’s find false witnesses. The cool thing was they couldn’t even find three witnesses that agreed on their false charges. According to Jewish law you had to have three that agreed or the case would be thrown out. But they just kept doing it and doing it and doing it until they could find three that would say the same thing, and they should have thrown the case out of court. The following false report was published by the Communist government of Vietnam in a government controlled paper, I quote, “The enemies have made up a story about some king, and tell people of the king’s appearance. They also order them to gather money, to leave productive work, to go find and receive the king. Of course, there is no substance to Vang Chu”---that’s Vietnamese for God---“but foreign radio stations that are broadcasting in the Hmong dialect convince people that Vang Chu [or God] is in fact the real king of the Vietnamese people. This is causing a lot of serious damage against the security of the country, and many Vietnamese are suffering.” [chuckles] Praise God. Praise God, there’s a false report. I mean, Jesus never told us to go out and gather money and leave productive work, and to go wait for him someplace. That’s not what the Lord has ever taught us to do. In fact, to the contrary, Christians end up being he hardest workers, Christians end up in these countries being the model citizens, the ones that everybody can look to for support and encouragement. And that’s why persecution always boomerangs on these governments. Because people finally begin to realize, ‘What are we doing to these nice people?’. But don’t tell me you’re being persecuted, if at work you’re not putting in forty hours a week, you’re not putting in your eight hours a day, instead you’re gabbing about Jesus, two hours or an hour a day [on the clock]. Look, your employer pays you to work. You say, ‘Well, shouldn’t I witness at work?’ You’re employer is paying you to work. Your witnessing for your Lord will fit in after you’ve worked your eight hours. Or you’ll stay later and get your work done. Do you understand what I’m saying? You don’t want your witness to be looked upon by your employer as something that brings shame or reproach upon Jesus. You hear what I’m saying? I’m not saying not to witness. Witness. But don’t use it as your constant coffee-break. There are those times and those moments when the Lord will open the door, yes, but you ought to be the one that’s the hardest worker, you’ve got the reputation for being the one that has the great attendance record, you’re not the one that’s constantly calling in sick, you’re not the one who makes up excuses for not having your deadlines met. You know what I’m saying? And then saying ‘Oh I’m really being persecuted, because I’m a believer.’ No, you’re lazy. [laughter] Persecution almost always contains falsehoods. 1^st Peter chapter 3, verses 14 through 17, “But even if you should suffer as a Christian for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” And verse 16 now, “Keep a good conscience, so that in the things in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” Your what? Your good behavior in Christ. It’s slander, there isn’t truth to it. Slander is a very interesting thing, and in our culture we are very prone to believe the worst first. ‘Oh he must be lying!’ Well do you know the whole story yet? ‘I don’t need to.’ Oh, you’re God. You know, we don’t always get the whole story. Don’t make these quick judgments, these snap judgments, you don’t know the whole story in most people’s lives. What is important is to get truth. And you may, you will, if you’re living godly in Christ, you will be slandered. I don’t know how many times I’ve been slandered. After awhile you just, you become like a duck and it just rolls off of you. ‘Oh, they’re saying that again. Oh, somebody doesn’t believe me.’ OK, you know. And you’re not out there trying to clear it all up, put out all the fires and do all that. You know, who has time to serve God and do all that? Let the Lord take care of your name. You just glorify his. That’s what you’re called to do. But your behavior ought to be such that Jesus, Yeshua is glorified. And people who slander you will be put to shame. People will say, ‘You know, two and two make four, not three like you’re saying. I know her, that’s not like her, I don’t believe that. I know him, he’s a man of integrity, I don’t believe that. Maybe there’s something I don’t know.’ See that’s what we want the unbelieving world to be able to say about us. And hopefully we treat each other like that in the body of Christ as well.

Number 3: And thirdly, the persecution must be for Christ’s sake, Matthew 5:12 says

‘When you’re persecuted for my name’s sake’, Jesus said, ‘you’ll be happy, or blessed.’ The persecution arises out of our unwavering loyalty to our Master and King, and it’s joyful, in that we’re willing to suffer for Christ. Hebrews 13:12-13 says “Therefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate, hence let us go to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.” There is shame sometimes in following Christ. Not any shame because Jesus is shameful, but because the world will try to shame you and say that you’re something that you’re not. Don’t worry. Jesus was shamed as well. But he bore yours on the cross, that you might not have to bear it yourself. Pastor Gayle Feng, Chinese pastor, was arrested in China and sent to prison without a trial. His home and his possessions were all confiscated. His crime was that he tried to legally register a Protestant church in China. This is very recent. While in prison he went on a hunger strike to try to get his Bible back which had been confiscated. He stopped eating because he so desired the Bread of Life, the Word of God. Isn’t that incredible? I mean, how many times do we take the Word of God for granted? To try to break his hunger strike seven Chinese guards tied him in a chair. You know, this is the way bullies work. It took seven of them to tie this, I’ve got his picture, he’s a little guy. Seven of these guys tied him in a chair, and then they began torturing him with cattle prods, electrocuting him. He said the pain was so intense he thought he was going to die, but he wouldn’t cave in. He eventually got his Bible. He served the rest of his sentence in a northern Chinese “re-education” camp, but when at last he was released---you know what his words to fellow believers were?---he told them it was worth it all, that he would happily go to prison all over again, and this is what he says, I quote “I would prefer to be in prison for two years than do nothing for God” end quote. That’s awesome guys. Here’s a man, have you ever had a cattle prod zap you? I haven’t. I mean, the static electricity from the carpet scares me. [laughter] I don’t know if I could go through that Lord. And you know what, you don’t have to worry about it right now, because you’re not facing it right now. But if you needed to, God will give you the grace right then. Corey ten Boom, you know she was talking to her father about persecution and death and she says, “Father I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go through this.” And her father wisely said to her, “Little Corey” he said, “You know when we go to the train station, when do I give you the ticket to get onboard the train?” She says, “Father, when we’re just about ready to get onboard.” And he says “Exactly, that’s when God will give you the grace that you need, just before you step into that trouble.” And God will, and God has, and God always will continue to do so. We can be happy when we’re persecuted for righteousness.

Three encouragements in persecution

First encouragement, the kingdom of heaven is yours, you’ve gained admission

Let’s go back to Matthew 5, verse 10, we can be happy because we’re going to be admitted into the kingdom of heaven, as resurrected immortal beings (cf. 1 Cor. 15:49-56) Matthew 5, verse 10. The very fact that you’re persecuted, here’s some encouragements, if you end up being persecuted, and you will for righteousness sake, you can be happy because you’re going to be admitted into the kingdom heaven, verse 10, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven.” [Comment: Most believers don’t realize, but the ‘kingdom of heaven’ is coming to earth at the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ, and after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and the saints, that’s us folks, the New Jerusalem will come down to earth along with God the Father, where God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and all resurrected immortal saints will dwell. Cf. Revelation 20-21. See also http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm.] This earth [as it is now] isn’t all there is, this earth is very transitory, and it’s passing away. And we have got to keep in mind, I want all of you to do this, Christian or non-Christian here tonight, I want you to think, this is not all there is, there is more to life than this world [this evil age we live in]. You will go on forever. And you will go on forever either in the kingdom of heaven or hell, that’s what the Bible teaches. And there is nothing in this life worth missing out on eternity with God, nothing. [Comment: within the body of Christ there are varying and different interpretations as to what hell is. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm.] I was talking to a really fine gentleman at the door after one of the services today. And he was telling me how he had not made a decision for Jesus Christ. And he knew that he should make a decision for Jesus Christ, and that he wasn’t ready if Jesus were to come today, he wouldn’t be ready to go. And I thought, ‘Man, why didn’t you?’. And I said, “You’re sort of afraid that you might miss out on something?” And he said, “Well, you know, it’s sort of like you were saying”, he said, “I’m afraid I might miss out on some of the pleasures of this world.” And I said, “You know, they’re just so-called pleasures.” And I know if he caught a view of what it will be like in the kingdom of heaven, if he could see the glories of heaven and the joys and delight of heaven, he would not be saying ‘You know, I’m afraid I’m going to miss out on something here on earth.’ [Psalm 16:10-11, “For you will not leave my soul in Sheol [the grave], nor will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This is talking about eternal life. David sets the context of this statement in the realm of eternal life, after his resurrection to immortality (verse 10). We will be with God wherever he is, and there will be “pleasures forevermore.”] But Satan’s job, as I read the book of Corinthians, is to blind the minds of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. If you don’t know Christ tonight, you know what Satan’s job in your life is, it is to blind you so that you can’t see what I’m saying. And I thought of that verse as I was talking to the man. . [Here’s another verse to consider also, Revelation 12:9, Satan has the whole world deceived, blinded.] And I believe he’ll come back, and I believe the Lord will save him, I really do. But you know, Satan’s job is to try to not let you see eternal things, he wants to get you so busy, maybe so overwhelmed by your problems, maybe so overwhelmed by a relationship, maybe ignoring the Lord for things that you’re pursuing. But he wants to blind you, and I’m telling you, you’ve got to open your eyes right now, and you can in Jesus name open your eyes. And you can see eternal things. We’re going to be admitted into the kingdom of heaven as immortal spirit beings, the resurrected saints of God.

Second encouragement, your rewards within that kingdom will be great

Secondly, we can be happy in persecution because we have a heavenly reward, verse 12, rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great. Rejoice and be glad. You know why? Because your reward in heaven is great. As I see our Sudanese brothers and sisters dying and being mowed down by machineguns and dying of starvation, and you hear of other atrocities that are perpetrated against believers across the world…[tape switchover, some text lost]…all those poor people, they don’t have anything. You know what? Great is their reward in heaven, great is their reward. They have an exceeding eternal weight of glory that’s going to be given to them by our righteous Lord Jesus Christ. We have the witness of the prophets and of our brethren that we’re on the right side. It says “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you”, verse 11, “and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be [exceedingly] glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” You know what? You’re in good company.

Third encouragement, you’re being confirmed as a child of God

Thirdly, you’re being confirmed as being a child of God. If you never get any persecution in your life, maybe you’d better check your pulse. Maybe you’re not really alive in Christ. Maybe you’re not really a believer, “because all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” It might not all be being burned at the stake, it might not be that any of you will ever be called to give your life for Jesus Christ, but it may be in other ways, people hurt you, slander you, abuse you, misuse you, there’s all sorts of ways you can be persecuted, not getting the raise, being passed over. Even in the spiritual realm and spiritual warfare, the enemy can just begin to barrage you and shoot you and hit you. [I’ve encountered that running this website. If you are doing a work for Jesus Christ, even a small work, you are on Satan’s threat list, his hit list. You’ve become a threat to his evil empire. Spiritual warfare isn’t pleasant, but rejoice. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/memphisbelle.htm.] And you’re being persecuted, yes, but you know what, you’re in good company. And I would say that would make you rejoice, because you realize, “I’m a child of God. My Lord suffered like this, and if I suffer, ok.” You know it’s so easy to cave-in to pressure, and to say ‘I’m not so sure I want to do anything with Jesus Christ’, because of the pressure you feel from other people. When persecution occurs to the Church [body of Christ] it’s really good for the Church because a lot of people that really aren’t Christians leave. And I’ve often wondered, if real persecution broke out in America, what would a church like ours boil down to? Would we go from, what, nearly 5,000 down to what? I hope it’d stay right where it is, but I don’t know what would happen. [Comment: To answer the pastor’s question, one, there’s no way he can see into every member’s heart, but two, how many that are believers remain strong and stedfast depends on ‘how he builds on the foundation, which is Christ.’ 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, stubble: every man’s work shall be made manifest: For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If a man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: But he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” The pastor can’t be responsible for every person’s personal spiritual life, but he can be held accountable by Christ for the overall health of the congregation entrusted to him, or the overall health of the ministry entrusted to him. Fire here is the Biblical symbol for fiery trials and persecution. The pastor himself is the answer to Pastor J. Mark Martin’s rhetorical question here, as all pastors are.] But I do know the pressure that we get from other people can keep us from making right decisions. And there’s some of you sitting here right now, that need to make a decision for Jesus Christ tonight. And there’s no gun at your head saying ‘Deny Jesus Christ’, but do you know what there is right now?---there’s eternal life in the balance for you. In some ways it would be better if we were just talking about physical life, but we’re talking about eternal life right now. And we’re saying ‘What are you going to do with Jesus Christ?’ Where are you going to spend eternity? And it’s so easy to cave in and say ‘Well, I’m worried about what my friends think.’ And I wonder how many people today are held back spiritually because they’re more concerned about the opinions of others than the opinions of God? People cave in because of persecution and forsake the faith because they’re worried about what people think and what might happen to them physically. People don’t accept Jesus Christ for the same reasons. They’re afraid of what people think. They’re worried about what their friends might think if they follow God. ‘I really don’t want to commit to follow Jesus Christ because of what my friends might think.’ Now let me just tell you something, as I’ve looked at life over the years, I’ve noticed that the people that, let me say this, fifteen years from now or ten years from now, the people that are so close to you, most likely won’t be close to you. They’re not going to hate your guts or anything, necessarily, but the way life works is that people move, people change, you move, people grow, and the people you might be living to please right now aren’t even going to be a part of your life. And right now you might be reluctant to accept Jesus Christ because of somebody in your life. And you know what? Five years from now they’ll be a distant memory. Would you jeopardize your eternal life for the sake of somebody that you might not even remember five years from now? Would you flush eternity and say, ‘You know what, I don’t care’, because of what some turkey thinks right now? That’s what they are, if anybody’s trying to keep you out of the Kingdom, that’s what they are. You need to consider what God thinks, not what people think. Because someday you’re going to stand before God, and you do want be standing before God with all your buddies around you, in some group going ‘Duh, hey God, none of us accepted you.’? You’re going to be standing before God all by yourself. And God’s going to say ‘What did you do with my Son?’. And I’ll tell you, the dumbest thing to say there will be ‘nothing’. That will absolutely be the worst answer you could ever say is ‘nothing.’ Next worse answer is ‘I rejected him.’ All of those answers lead to hell. Why talk about hell? Because if there’s a heaven, there has to be a hell. And there is a heaven, and there is a hell, and Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father accept by me.” There is only one way that you can enter into life, and that’s through Jesus Christ. Where will you spend eternity? Are you afraid of what other people might think? Jesus wasn’t afraid to die on the cross for you. Let me tell you, you are so loved by God, you are so loved by God, that God opened the doors of heaven to you when Jesus was on the cross, and all the things that you have done that are wrong Jesus died for. The cross is the proof that God will accept everyone here, if we will just reach out and accept the gift that God offers. There’s nothing you can do to earn it or deserve it, you’re not too bad to get it. There’s nobody here that is too bad. Jesus says ‘I’ll forgive you all manner of sin, no matter what you’ve done, I’ll forgive you, if you’ll simply believe in me, if you’ll trust me.’ “For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever will believe in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” In Jesus Christ you can have that life. You can be a new person in Christ. You desperately need a new beginning, and Jesus will give it to you. The Bible says that anyone who will be in Christ, that person will become a new creation, the old things will pass away, and everything will become new. I’ve seen Jesus break the power of all sorts of lifestyle problems, I’ve seen him break the power of drugs, I’ve seen him break the power of alcohol, I’ve seen him forgive every kind of sin you could come up with, from A to Z, he’s forgiven it all. I’ve seen people whose lives were terribly destroyed and devastated, like, resurrected. They were like dead people, and God’s brought them back to life. I want to offer you that hope right now. Jesus Christ will accept you, if you’ll just ask him to come into your life. You say, ‘Well how do I do that?’ Simple. The Bible says that if you’ll call on the name of the Lord, he’ll save you. It doesn’t say ‘If you’ll be baptized when you were a baby’, that means nothing. You have to believe to be saved. Babies can’t believe. It doesn’t say whoever is confirmed will be saved, don’t hope in that either. Or that you’re part of the One and only True Church, whatever that you think it might be. The Bible says that you have to believe in the Person of Jesus Christ, and know him personally, it’s a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And if you’ll accept him, he’ll save you, I guarantee it, that your life will be transformed. Call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved. We call on the name of the Lord by praying. And in just a moment I’m going to lead you in a prayer, I’m going to lead you in a prayer that we’ll pray phrase by phrase. I’ll pray a little phrase, and you pray after me. You’ll just pray silently, between you, me and the Lord. I don’t want you to say anything out loud [they’re sitting in a big congregation, with lots of people around each other, whereas those of you reading this are all by yourselves (unless you’re at a computer terminal at work with others around you, which if true, I recommend you follow his advice and pray silently). But for those of you on the computer, all alone, you can pray this out loud.] I want it to be absolutely between you, me, and the Lord. And Jesus Christ will come into your life, and give you a new beginning. And then after we do that, I want to talk to you, believers. Let’s bow our heads, ‘Father in heaven I ask right now in Jesus name, by the power of the Holy Spirit, because of your faithfulness Lord, that you would draw to yourself those whom you want to save tonight. Lord, have mercy. Lord, let your love just flow now, to every corner of this place, into everyone who listens…repeat after me, ‘Father in heaven, I thank you for your love to me. I am hungry, and I’m thirsty. Please give me the gift of eternal life. I confess that I’m a sinner. I’ve tried so many other things. Nothing has satisfied. I need you. I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and the he rose again. And I accept him as my Saviour.’ If you prayed that prayer, I want to welcome you into the family of God, because you are a child of God now…[transcript of a sermon on Matthew 5:10-12, given by Pastor J. Mark Martin of Calvary Community Church, 12612 N. Black Canyon Hwy, Phoenix, AZ 85029]