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| Sermon #47 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 exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you, MAT 5:10-12. In the previous message, we began with the eighth beatitude which is contained in V:10-12. Our first point dealt with suffering for righteousness vs. suffering for self-righteousness. Our second point dealt with the persecution of the righteous and how Satan uses our nearest of kin for character assassination. We looked at Job. His kinsfolk and nearest friends were estranged from him. In JOB 19:13-14 he complained, "He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me." We also looked at envy. The church leaders, Christ's own disciple, Judas, and the professed bride of Christ sold Him out of envy. In MAT 27:17-18 we find, "Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him." Joseph's own brothers sold him out of envy. ACT 7:9 says, "And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him." Out of envy his own brothers sold him into slavery. The King of Israel, David's own father-in-law, wanted to kill him out of envy. In 1-SA 18:7-9 we find, "And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward." In all these persecutions the children of God were exposed. MAT 5:10 has the same format as the other seven beatitudes. Verses 3-10 speak to the church in general. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," MAT 5:10. In V:11-12 Jesus turns to the personal application. He uses the pronouns ye, you, and your to make it a personal investigation into our own soul. "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 exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you," MAT 5:11-12. Let's look at how the Lord has become personal in V:11 and 12. Jesus speaks to our own hearts in a personal way. The Lord speaks of the persecutions that we personally suffer. Now we must look at the exact instance to see the blessedness of when these persecutions become personal. This is very personal. We look not at the church in general, nor do we look at our condition in general. We identify each trial, each persecution, in a very personal way and examine how we deal with them. Does that old monster, self, become crucified, or do we stand up in defense? LUK 6:29-30 says, "And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again." We have to stop being defensive. Defensiveness is in our character by nature. When we become defensive, the Lord will send more persecution. This character assassination will come against that ugly monster, "I." We must come to the end of self for Christ to become our all. Even though our character is assassinated by things that are untrue, the Lord has a purpose in it. Jesus said in, MAT 10:34-36, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." God's purpose for this is to turn our eyes unto Himself as we see in V:37-38, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."
FOR OUR THIRD POINT , let's consider God's purpose in sending these persecutions.Our Saviour is now addressing His dear children personally. He talks to us as an individual. He is no longer talking to us as a church. What does the character assassination do in our heart? If we are reviled, do we revile again? Do we defend ourselves, or are we able to walk in the footsteps of our Savior as He directed in LUK 6:29-30? God's purpose in sending these persecutions is to dissolve that ugly monster, "I"! It is to remove our self-centered attitude and give us to become dissolved into the body of Christ. I'll use an example to illustrate this. Many kernels make one bread; many grapes make one wine. You cannot make bread with grain that has not been blended. It must be taken completely apart by the grinding process and made into fine flour. Without the grinding process, the kernels would never glue together. You could not make bread. What is the Lord's purpose in the persecutions that He sends us? It is to grind us into flour. Then when the flour is mixed, we will make one bread, or one body. We are no longer individuals. The Lord deals with us personally. Many grapes are put into the winepress and trodden underfoot. Thereby the blood is trodden out. The blood of all these grapes comes together to make one wine. The bread is the symbol of the body of Christ, and the wine is the symbol of the blood of Christ. The blood is the life of the body. Our Saviour's purpose in leading us in the way of the cross is to dissolve us into His body, by removing that ugly monster, "I"! Oh beloved, it is so blessed when we come to the end of self and when all our selfishness becomes dissolved into the perfect body of Christ. It is such a blessing when we begin to understand that melting process, for we begin to realize that is the purpose of the persecution which Christ has sent. When we understand this, we do not throw a stone at the person whom the Lord uses as an instrument to grind us to powder. The Lord does this so that He can blend us into the body of Christ. The ugly monster of self becomes ground to powder. Then it is mixed and becomes one bread. The grapes are trodden, and they come into one blood. This is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The individuality is gone; this is the purpose of persecutions. MAT 5:9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers: [Isn't that precious?] for they shall be called the children of God." The peacemakers are blessed because they walk in the footsteps of Christ. He made peace by the blood of His cross. The peacemakers will walk in the way of the cross. These persecutions are to crucify that old man of sin; self-pride will be brought down; it will be purged from them. The will of those peacemakers whom Jesus says is blessed will be dissolved into blessed harmony with the will of Christ. Then Christ is, "...the chiefest among ten thousand...the altogether lovely," SON 5:10-16. He becomes their only hope and expectation. Their eyes are lifted unto Him, and their eyes are taken away from self. The history of Jacob is so beautiful. As he wrestled in prayer, the Lord "...touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him," GEN 32:25. A wrestler's strength is in his thigh! This teaches us that when Jacob came to the end of his own strength, he was called a prince that had power with God. "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed, "GEN 32:28. It is so very important that we understand the Lord's purpose in these trials. When we do, we are no longer as an ox unaccustomed to the yoke; we stop fighting it. The yoke of our Saviour is so easy, and the burden is so light if we compare His yoke to spending eternity paying the price of our own sin. When we understand this, it becomes so easy to flee to the Lord confessing, "I have sinned! I have sinned!" We know we don't have a stone left to throw at our fellow man. This accomplishes the purpose for which God sends persecution upon His church. In JER 3 the Lord compares His bride unto an unfaithful woman. If only our eyes were opened to see this. The Lord looks upon us as an unfaithful woman when our hearts go after the things of this world. He sees our spiritual adultery as that of a spiritual harlot. JER 3:14 says, "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you." He still pleads with us saying, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God." It takes much grace to truly confess our wrong. Joseph told his brothers, "See that ye fall not out by the way," GEN 45:24. Can you picture what a trial his brothers had throughout that whole journey from Joseph to Jacob? Picture their reasoning. How are we going to tell Jacob, our father? How are we going to confess our sin in selling our brother? How can we explain that he is yet alive? Joseph said, "See that ye fall not out by the way." Satan is so crafty! He would tempt us to give it all up rather than confess such heinous sins. If we follow Satan's temptations, we fall out by the way. He wants us to do as Jonah and flee from the Lord. Jonah ended up in the belly of the whale. If the Lord loves us, we will never be able to run. The Lord will have us cast overboard. He will bring us into the belly of hell. From the belly of hell, we will have to cry unto the Lord. We cannot run from the Lord. If the Lord is leading, we must follow. When we come under that yoke of Christ, we will understand how easy it is to come to His terms of peace. The terms of peace are so easy for one who truly bears the marks set forth in the first seven beatitudes. JER 3:13 says, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD." This is the yoke of Christ. To acknowledge our iniquities sounds so easy. It is easy when the Spirit of Christ is truly in our heart and soul. By nature, however, this is so hard. It is impossible to acknowledge our iniquities. We must come before the Lord asking for grace. We must lay our cause before the Lord. To have an acceptable petition, we must first confess our guilt; we must confess our need of help. David had to cry out in the opening remark of his prayer that he was poor and needy. We must see our dependency upon the Lord. To suffer persecution for the name of Christ is to walk under the yoke of Christ in the way of submission. This submission was destroyed in the Garden of Eden when rebellion was born. The submission of the Lord Jesus Christ to God's will was to set us an example, so we can walk in His steps. It is through confessing our sins that we are brought to plead for mercy. MAT 11:29 says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." It is so blessed when the Saviour of our soul says that He is meek and lowly. The meekness of Christ is the example we need in our heart. We need, as the man at the Pool of Bethesda, to lay at the pool until our heart is stirred by the waters of the Spirit. Water is the symbol of the Spirit. That man's heart was stirred, but he had no might within himself to get into the waters. He needed those everlasting arms to pick him up, JOH 5:2-8. We must plead for those everlasting arms. This is the purpose of the Lord sending persecutions in our life. He wants to bring us out of ourselves. The Lord wants to show us our dependency upon Him. The Lord will come with His blessed Spirit and deliver us from ourselves. This is so beautiful. Jesus speaks here to His disciples, those who will walk in His footsteps, actively promoting His name. "For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." It is so important that we do everything for the honor of His name. In MAT 5:10-11, the Lord addressed His disciples. He talked to the ones who would be persecuted for His name's sake. It is terrible if we are being persecuted for our wrong. We must be persecuted for His name's sake. The Lord was talking to those who were going out to be a witness for Him. They were going out to bring glory to His name as those monuments of faith recorded in HEB 11:35-38, "...others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: [These were the prophets Jesus was speaking of when He said, 'For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'] And others had trial of cruel mockings [i.e., through character assassination,] and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." The world wasn't worthy of them. Therefore, they were being persecuted for His name's sake. When we learn what it is to fellowship in the sufferings of Christ, we are able to lay before the feet of the Lord saying "Father, Thy will be done." We are able to give everything into the Lord's hands. The Lord sends these persecutions to mortify that old monster, self. LUK 12:51 says "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division." It is so blessed when we are given to see that the Lord uses these persecutions to bring us into conformity with the sufferings of Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ looked into the cup which His Father put in His hand, He saw that Judas would betray Him. He saw that Peter would deny Him. He saw that the High Priest would blaspheme Him. He saw that Pilot would give sentence against Him to be crucified. Jesus saw all this in the cup. MAT 26:42 says, "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Are we going to walk in the footsteps of our Saviour, or are we going to point our finger at the instrument the Lord is using to put us in our place? This is so important because it is the purpose of the trial. The Lord sends these persecutions to separate His dear children from His enemies. If the Lord left us to ourselves, we would mingle with the world to such an extent that we couldn't be sorted out. The Lord won't allow that. He will send these persecutions for the purpose of separating His dear children from His enemies. In JAM 4:4 we read, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." The Lord wants us to be separated from His enemies. We are called to come out from among them. 2CO 6:14-17 says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." The Lord sends these persecutions to separate us. Look at the relationship between the Father and His sons and daughters! He said, "and I will receive you." When they are separated, He will receive them, and they shall be called the children of God. When they have been separated from the things of this world, the Lord will receive them. 2CO 6:18 says, "And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." The Lord looks at His dear children as sons and daughters. He wants them separated from His enemies. Peter gathered with the enemies of Christ. He warmed himself at the fires they had kindled. Peter, the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, gathered together with the enemies of Christ. These enemies were crucifying Christ. Was Peter with these people to be a witness for Jesus or to give a testimony? Oh, no! Peter cursed, and he swore; he denied that he even knew Jesus. Peter blended himself with the enemies of the Lord. What did the Lord do? He used His enemies to sort Peter out and drive him from among them. MAR 14:67 says, "And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth." Peter was convicted through these cruel mockings and scourgings. The Lord Jesus says that we must rejoice over these cruel mockings and scourgings. What the Lord had told Peter convicted his heart. The Lord had already sent the cock to crow. This was to convince and convict Peter of his guilt. Peter stood among the enemies of His Lord with a hard heart. Peter continued to deny Jesus even after the cock crew. We must understand why the Lord sent the persecution. He sent persecution because His dear children, with their eyes open and knowing they were walking contrary to the ways of the Lord, would continue in rebellion. This is when the Lord comes with His chastening hand to bring hearts into subjection to His will. He wants us to be separated from the enemies of our Lord. He wants us to be gathered with the right flock, so we can be dissolved into the body of Christ. MAR 14:69-70 says, "And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto." This was a reference to the accent in his speech. However, it also carried over in a spiritual sense; his speech betrayed him because the multitude were cursing and swearing, but Peter was not swearing. His speech betrayed him. He still reflected enough of the light of Christ's spirit that they could identify him. They recognized that their cursing and swearing did not come forth from his mouth. Then Peter framed his speech to conform with Christ's enemies. Oh beloved, this is so grievous. He conformed his speech with the enemies of Christ. "But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak," MAR 14:71. It is so horrible when the Lord leaves us over to where our speech becomes conformed with the enemies of Christ. It is horrible when we want to conform to them by cursing, swearing, and taking the name of God in vain. Peter's speech betrayed him. To take away the betrayal, Peter began to curse and swear. The Lord sends His enemies to persecute us, to separate us from His enemies. Does our speech and our language betray us? In JDG 12:5-6 we read, "And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand." They slew the man because, just like Peter, he wouldn't own up to his country. He wouldn't own up to his leadership, but like Peter, his speech betrayed him. The Lord gives His enemies the ability to sort out His people by their fruits. The Lord gives His enemies the courage to persecute His people, thus the Lord's people are separated from His enemies. They shall say, "thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto." The enemies of the Lord will sort out His people. MAT 7:16-18 says, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Why can't a good tree bring forth corrupt fruit? Jonah would have, but the Lord intervened. The Lord allowed him to be cast overboard. The Lord put Jonah into the belly of hell to bring him back to Himself. Jonah was walking away from the Lord with his eyes wide open. He knew that he was going against the Lord's will. The Lord took him in hand. If we are one of the Lord's, we will never destroy ourselves. We may, however, bring much grief upon ourselves. If we don't separate ourselves, the Lord will use His enemies to do the sorting. LUK 6:22-24 says, "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation." When we can bathe in the friendship, love, riches, and pleasures of the world, when the world and its pleasures become our portion, woe unto us. The Lord Jesus was being persecuted by the church. The Lord sends persecutions from within the church body to sort out those who are genuine. Many come within the assemblies of the Lord who are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing. It is not our place to judge or to do the sorting. We are not to pass judgment. We cannot say who is saved and who is not. The Lord sends heresies within the church circle that, through persecution, His own might be made manifest. In 1CO 11:18-19 we read, "For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." The Lord sends heretics to sort out those who speak the language of the learned from those who are not able to say "Shibboleth." The Lord uses their speech to do the sorting, as speech was used with the Gileadites and the Ephraimites. His people are not able to use the tongue of the world; they are sorted out. They are made manifest when the Lord sends heresies within the church, "that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." The church leaders will use persecution to sort out those who are approved. Understanding the ways of the Lord is such an amazing thing. His purpose of sending these persecutions is to sort us out; it is to separate us from His enemies. He wants to grind the wheat into fine flour so it can be used to make one bread; thus we can blend in with His body. Then Christ's body becomes one bread and one wine; there must be no schism in the body, we cannot be friends of the world and Christ. JOH 16:2 says, "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." They will put us out of the church for His name's sake. The parents of the man who was born blind would rather stand with the enemies of Christ, than to identify with Christ. JOH 9:21-22 says, "But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." Sometimes your own parents will come against you. The Lord used this man's parents to sort him out; he had to stand and witness Jesus Christ for himself. His parents could not stand for him. In our text, MAT 5:11-12, we see that this becomes so personal. The Lord Jesus turns the light on us as individuals. He shows us how we will be made manifest as individuals. He reproves us by using the church leaders, the enemies of the Lord, and our very own parents. The church will sort out those who are approved as they did the man who was born blind. JOH 9:34 says, "They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out." Isn't that blessed? This man who was altogether born in sin proclaimed the blessedness of Christ. Christ had opened His eyes. The blind man's parents wouldn't take the chance, but he stood for the glory of God. Jehu relied upon the prophets of Baal to sort out the Lord's people. That is beautiful. The Lord uses His enemies to sort us out; they may be church leaders or they may be world leaders. In 2KI 10:23 we read, "And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshipers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only." Jehu was going to slay the worshipers of Baal. He told them he was going to make a sacrifice for Baal, and he wanted to make sure that only worshipers of Baal would take part in it. Jehu wanted to be sure that he was not destroying one of the Lord's servants. Jehu did not ask the Lord's people to go sort out how many of their own people were in the temple of Baal. He told the worshipers of Baal to look because they would recognize the speech of the Lord's people; their speech would betray them. Jehu knew that the worshipers of Baal could identify the Lord's people because they could see that they were different. Jehu relied upon the worshipers of Baal to sort out the Lord's people to make sure that he did not destroy one who served the Lord. There may have been one who was weak in faith, who was trying to attend the offering unto Baal, but Jehu used the Baal worshipers to sort them out. These trials are to get our priorities straight. Sometimes we get so mixed up that we don't see how we can let all of our flesh be crucified, cut off, and torn to shreds for our own good. The Lord sends the persecution to set our priorities straight. As with Abraham, we must put our Isaac on the altar. The Lord will set the father against the son and the son against the father. Your enemies will be those of thine own house. The Lord will do this to see that we get our priorities straight. MAT 10:37-39 says, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." At a time when I felt the Lord had laid on my heart something He wanted me to do, I received word that my father had suffered a stroke. The Lord had impressed on me that the matter weighing on my heart was urgent and had to be done, but when I arrived at the hospital, the doctor told me he did not expect my father to live until morning. I had an appointment early the next morning concerning the situation that the Lord had laid on my heart; I called my wife and told her that I would not be home that night because my father was not expected to live. As I hung up the phone, this passage of Scripture drove into me like a spear. "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." I went home that night trusting that what the Lord does is right. If I had to be gone when my father passed away, so be it. I had to obey the Lord. The Lord sends these trials to see if our priorities are straight. Can we obey the Lord at all costs, even if it crucifies our flesh? Are we able to put our own Isaac on the altar? The Lord will try us, as the gold and the silver is tried. The purpose is to bring us into blessed harmony with the Lord Jesus Christ. MAT 10:38 says, "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." If my father and mother are worth more to me than the authority of God's Word, if I can not take up my cross and follow the footsteps of my Saviour, then I am not worthy of Him. The Lord drove into my heart so powerfully that if being with my dying father was worth more than Him, then I was not worthy of Him. I went home that night and obeyed the will of the Lord. Then the Lord gave me the privilege of spending the next three weeks with my father. I was able to be with him until he had recovered, and he was back in his home. The Lord tests our priorities. The disciple of Christ must walk in His steps. MAT 10:24 reads, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord." That old monster, self, must be crucified. Saul, as well as all Israel, rejoiced when David slew Goliath. When David put himself in jeopardy by taking his life in his own hand, he went forth in the name of the Lord. God's deliverance gratified all Israel and Saul, yet look at the persecution that came forth when Saul heard the women sing in 1-SA 18:7, "And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." This persecution by King Saul was used to prepare David for the kingdom. It taught David to know himself and his God. The Lord took Saul right out of the family and put him into the kingdom. Saul was not prepared, and he fell into rebellion. David had to go to the school [in a prophetic way] of fellowship in the suffering of Christ to be prepared to lead the Lord's people. David suffered all the years of persecution. He fled from the hand of Saul. In 1-SA 30:6 we read how David came to the end of himself, "And David was greatly distressed; for the people [i.e., those whom the Lord had gathered unto David,] spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." The Lord brought David out of himself. David was emptied of all strength in the flesh: his only strength was in the Lord. What did David have that he could use to encourage himself? Everything the Lord had promised David seemed to have failed. The Lord had chosen him to be king, but he was being chased as a partridge in the wilderness. He had been refused by the Philistines; he wasn't even allowed to go with them! He came back to Ziklag, and it had been burned with fire. All of his children, all of his men's children, and all of their wives were gone. They were all taken captive. Wherein could David strengthen himself in the Lord? David looked back by faith. He remembered how he had slain a lion and a bear; he remembered how he had slain Goliath, the giant, all in the name of the Lord his God, the God of Israel. David looked back to when he was anointed to be king. David's faith was yet so strong. "But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." But how? David did this by looking back at the faithfulness of God and trusting Him even though His promises had not yet been fulfilled. Immediately after recovering his assets, his family, and the families of his men, David received word that Saul had been slain in battle. 2SA 2:1 says, "And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron." When David came to Hebron the Lord prepared the hearts of the people to seek him out. V:4 says, "And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul." David went from his deliverance from the greatest trial of his life to the throne of Israel. The Lord first brought David to zero in himself. The Lord emptied him completely; then David was ready to become king. The Lord used the trials to prepare David to become king. The Lord uses trials to prepare us for the work He has for us to do. We do not go forth in our own strength. After David had become king, before he came against the Philistines, he inquired of the Lord. What did Saul do? He did not seek the Lord's counsel, but he sent Jonathon out to stir things up. All of Saul's men deserted him. They hid in the holes and among the rocks. This was because Saul did not wait until the time appointed of the Lord. Now David has been sent through his schooling of the Lord. David had been prepared. How? He had been prepared by persecution. David learned through persecution to be strong in the Lord. The disciples of Jesus had to return to Jerusalem where their Saviour was crucified to wait for the promise of the Father. The Saviour was not only persecuted, but He was crucified. The disciples could see persecution on every hand in the city. ACT 1:4 says, "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me." During this preparing process, they had to wait for the day of Pentecost. Jesus said to rejoice and be exceeding glad with the eye of faith on the reward. We must be glad and rejoice for all this persecution because our eyes are fixed on the blessed reward which was purchased at the fountain opened for all sin and uncleanness. Our text in MAT 5:12 says, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Another great purpose for the Lord in sending persecution is so He may be glorified in the obedience of His dear children. The Lord wants to be glorified. He will use His children's obedience for His glory. Paul and Silas gave glory to God in their persecution. In ACT 16:25 we find, "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." Under the persecution they had been beaten, put into the stocks, cast in prison, and thrown out as vile. When they sat in prison, they sang the praises of God. V:26 says, "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." God is glorified when His dear children cheerfully endure the persecution of His sending. Through persecution of the apostles, the jailer and all his house were brought into glory. It is so blessed if we understand that the Lord's name will not be blasphemed on our account when we walk according to His Word for His glory. If we are strapped, if we are humiliated, if we must confess our sins, like Joseph's brothers, we may not fall out by the way. Joseph's brothers had to confess to their father that they had sold their brother into slavery, and that their hearts were filled with murder. Did their father give them railing for railing? Oh, no! Their father saw that the fountain was corrupt. It was such a blessed reunion! Jacob also had to confess how he had deceived his father with his own brother's coat. GEN 27:15 says, "And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son." It was the smell of this coat of Jacob's brother that deceived Isaac. V:27 says, "And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed." See how blessedly the Lord was glorified as Jacob and his children could confess to each other that the Lord had rewarded each of them according to their own doings. God was glorified in the obedience of Abraham. GEN 22:12 says, "And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, [Isn't that blessed?] seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Abraham was able to put his Isaac on the altar. The Lord sent this trial for our learning. What do we learn from this? The undeniable evidence of Abraham's salvation. Oh beloved, The Lord God spoke from heaven saying, "...now I know that thou fearest God!" Jesus says in, MAT 7:22-23, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Hell will be filled with religious people, but there will never, never, never be one God-fearing soul in hell! The fear of God is such a positive identifying mark of those who have salvation for their soul. Our Godly fear, as Abraham's, is revealed by our obedience of faith. Abraham had such a reverence for the will of God that he was able to put his own salvation on the altar to obey God. The promised Messiah was to come from Isaac. After Abraham's faith was proved by its test, an angel called to Abraham from heaven; "And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." He put everything on the altar. We must be able to put ourselves on the altar. Our honor, pride, and every aspect of our being must go on the altar for the glory of God. This is why the Lord sends these chastenings. The Lord spoke to Abraham the second time. GEN 22:16-18 says, "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." What a blessing. This is because Abraham obeyed the voice of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord sends us a trial of obedience; we may have to give up our own honor to obey His voice! I'm not a stranger to this. It is hard to accept that our name will be destroyed to stand for the honor of God. What happened with Abraham? He was able to put his Isaac on the altar for the glory of God. Because he obeyed, he received that great promise. We shall learn what it means to fellowship in His sufferings. In PHILIPPIANS the Lord shows us why we have our faith tried and why these things take place. "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: [Take notice of why!] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death," PHI 3:9-10. Isn't that beautiful? By the work of grace, we might be made conformable unto His death. By the work of grace, we can take up our cross to crucify the old man of sin. We can crucify everything that is of self, and that ugly old monster, "I", is put in the grave. This is contrary to all human reasoning. We will never do this by nature, it takes the grace of God. Our Saviour was never in rebellion, but look at what it says in HEB 5:8, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." The Lord will purge us of all rebellion until we understand the price of obedience. The Son of God learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and we are not greater than our Master. We will learn to crucify self and to walk in the ways of the Lord by the things which we suffer. We will suffer the destruction of everything that is of the flesh. We will be ground to flour. We will be totally dissolved into one flour to make one bread, which is the broken body of Christ. The body of Christ will only become one when all rebellion is broken, and their hearts are broken at His feet. Job came through the furnace. JOB 23:10 says, "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job was not murmuring. He understood what the Lord was doing. Job understood that the Lord had him in the furnace. Job suffered persecution for the glory of God. God and Satan were having a controversy in heaven. Satan was coming against Job's integrity. "And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" JOB 1:8. Satan did not have one accusation to bring against Job. Yet the Lord let Satan use his power to assassinate Job's character. Then in the end, Job could say, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes," JOB 42:5-6. Job came to understand that his flesh still had to be crucified. In spite of all his righteousness which stood before the world, his heart could never obtain salvation in his own righteousness. Job had to understand what it meant to abhor himself in dust and ashes. The blessed results of the furnace are shown in HEB 12:11-13. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees," HEB 12:11-12. Those who cannot walk in the ways of the Lord by themselves, they see their inability. Their hands hang down and their knees are feeble. V:13 says, "And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." It is so important to understand what it says in GAL 6:1. If our fellow man is overtaken in a fault, what do we do? Oh beloved, is this the time to start using railing for railing? No! No! "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." This must become our desire and our fervent prayer. The Lord commands us to reach out and rescue the brother who was taken in a fault. The feeble hands must be lifted up, and the knees must be strengthened. The one who is bruised and the one who is lame may not be turned out of the way, but rather let them be healed. Those are the peaceable fruits of righteousness. When the Lord has come into our soul and made us a vessel for the Master's honor; then we will strive for the honor of the Lord. What is God's purpose in sending all this persecution? Isn't it beautiful when we learn to understand that the purpose is to draw our eyes unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. We will become totally dissolved in the body of Christ, eliminating and crucifying all our pride. Our enemies will be used as instruments of the Lord to sort us out. The leaders of the church will be used. Our own nearest of kin will be used. The Lord will bring us to bow before His throne. We may not point our finger at anyone. We must accept that this was all of the Lord's sending. It is priceless if we understand this. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Amen. |
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