Commands of the King - Part 11: Rejoice When You are Persecuted for my Sake

Taken in part from Kingdom Living: The Commands of Christ by Zumé.

Command: Rejoice when you are persecuted for my sake. 

Key passages: Matthew 5:11-12; Luke 6:22-23.

[11] “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. [12] Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (‭Matthew 5:11-12).

[22] "Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. [23] Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets." (‭Luke 6:22-23).

We do not like pain or suffering. We try to avoid it at all costs. We experience pain and suffering in different ways. One way is when we are rejected by others. We want people to like us, so we try to please them. But when our efforts fail, and they don't like us, it can lead to emotional pain and suffering. 

Another way that we can experience pain and suffering is through physical harm. We take precautions to protect ourselves and others from physical harm. We wear seat belts when we drive down the road to help protect us if we are in a car accident. We wear oven mits when we are cooking to protect our hands from being burned.

We do these things to protect ourselves because we know that if we don't, we could experience immense pain and suffering, and possibly even death. 

The King mentioned another kind of pain and suffering that His people will experience - persecution. We cannot protect ourselves from this kind of pain and suffering. It will happen simply by following Him.

Persecution is an indication that we are truly following the King. 2 Timothy 3:12 says that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." And the King Himself said, "A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:20).

Persecution is a mark of faithfulness and loyalty to the Jesus. It is in the bloodline of God's children. The Son had it, and His royal subjects all inherit it.

God's ways are so different from our ways, that it can be difficult for us to understand why He would allow us and want us to be persecuted. Ultimately, it is for His purposes and glory, but believe it or not, we also benefit from it.

In our key passage, the Teacher said to His students, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven."

Jesus's promise to His disciples in this passage, is that they will be blessed and will have a great reward in heaven because of the persecution they will experience. 

The primary reward that we will receive is Jesus. But the Bible says that we will also receive rewards and blessings in this life if we respond well to suffering and persecution. 

Philippians 3:10-11 says, 

[10] that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, [11] if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.‭ (Philippians 3:10-11).

The writer of this passage understood that He would know Jesus more intimately, and that he would have intimate fellowship with Him, if he suffered for Him. He would know Him and fellowship with Him in a way that he would not, if he did not suffer for Him. These are extraordinary promises and blessings that we will receive in our present lives because we are persecuted for His sake. 

Let's look at some more blessings that we will receive as long as we have the correct response to our persecution:

Position us to bless others 

Test and refine and prove us and our faith 

Give us hope. Show us OV’s love is unstoppable and He is good and is all we need 

Show us OV is listening and is near 

Comfort us 

Equip us to comfort others 

Prepare us to inherit the Kingdom of heaven 

Increase our reward in heaven 

Discover our true and real life in the Lord 

Help us know the King more intimately 

Help us become more like the King and identify with Him more fully 

Help us gain more of the King's character 

Demonstrate the permanency and power of OV’s love for us 

Save our lives 

Cause us to bear more fruit 

(The list above is from Enduring Through Suffering by Zumé.)

The Word says that there are many more blessings that we receive when we are persecuted for the King's sake. I believe that we receive more blessings because of persecution than if we are not persecuted. But out of all the blessings, the most important one is knowing the King.

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[12] Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. (‭2 Timothy 3:12).

[20] Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (‭John 15:20).

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Group Responses

S - "Persecution plays a great role in our life. It makes us to love Him more than ever. Knowing Him is a great reward. He has given us power to deal with persecution. We prefer to be persecuted than to lose His love. We don't want to lose His love so we are persecuted. We always deal with death so we can live. Persecution proves our love for Him, and our faith in Him."

M - "I agree with S. We experienced [persecution] this year, so we moved to another city to show His love to others there. We realize this is His love and what He wants us to do. We are glad because this is His plan for us. He wants us to move to show His love for others."

N - "Persecution is a tool to know Him better. Persecution shows me how to take His steps in His way. The greatest reward is being with Him."

R - "When we choose Light over darkness, we can accept persecution because this teaches us to show love because He is our power and love. We teach others His Light and love. We must show them the true "sun" is Him."

Commands of the King - Part 10

Based in part on "Kingdom Living: The Commands of Christ" by Curtis Sergeant 

http://bible.com/r/4UL

Command: "Do not be amazed at my authority."

Key Passage: John 5:24-29

Characters: God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit 

Authority definition -

1. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.

2. One that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials.

3. Power assigned to another; authorization.

Who do you think of when you think about those who have authority?

Government, police, military, your parents, your boss at work, your teacher at school, etc.

These are all examples of those who have been given authority.

Government officials, police officers, and military personnel have been given authority by the government for the purpose of managing their region, legislating laws, protection, maintaining justice, and defending the region. 

Your boss and your teacher have been given authority by their bosses, or because they are paying you to do a job for them or to teach you. Jesus said that a student is not above his master.

Romans 13:1 says that there is no authority except that which has been given by God. It goes on to say that the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

In verse 3, it says that rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil, and verse 4 says that rulers are God's ministers to us for good, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 

Now listen carefully because this is important to understand, yet it is widely misunderstood:

What the passage is saying is that rulers or authorities who are good and who uphold justice and who condemn evil have been given authority by God and have been appointed by God. 

Wicked rulers and authorities who support injustice and who participate in evil have not been given authority by God nor have they been appointed by God.

The passage says that the function of rulers and governing authorities is to administer good and to execute wrath upon those who do evil. 

Those who do this have been given authority by God, and have been appointed by God. Verses 2 - 5 say that we are required to obey them. 

Those who do not do this, have not been given authority by God nor have they been appointed by God. Therefore, we are not to obey them if they demand us to do things that are against God and His law.

John 5:24-29 says that God has given Jesus ALL authority. 

In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said that ALL authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. 

He was given ALL authority by God and he was appointed by God as a minister to do good and to execute wrath upon those who do evil. 

John 5:24 says that because He has been given this authority by God, whoever hears His word, and believes in God:

1) has everlasting life,

2) shall not come into judgment, 

3) will pass from death to life. 

Note that the first promise, "HAS everlasting life" is present tense. This is not only a promise for after you die, but it is a promise for right now. 

If we hear His word, and believe in God, then we HAVE everlasting life. We have it now! 

The passage goes on to say that, "the hour is coming and now is, that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." (John 5:25)

The dead who hear Jesus's voice will live. 

Notice again that it is not only going to take place in the future, but it is also now at this time.

"For the Father has life in Himself, and He has granted the Son to have life in Himself" (John 5:26).

"The Father has given authority to the Son to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man" (John 5:27).

"Son of Man" means that He is the supreme example of all that God intended mankind to be, and in Him "all the fulness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). That is why God gave Jesus authority to execute judgment. 

Here is the command of the King:

"Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement" (John 5:28-29).

Those who heard Jesus's word and believed in God have been given eternal life already, but as we see here, sometime in the future, everyone who are in their graves - that is everyone who are dead - will hear God's voice and come forth, either to the resurrection of life, or to the resurrection of judgement. 

These are all amazing promises throughout this passage, but Jesus commands His disciples not to be amazed by these things, because He has been given ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH.

Because He has been given all authority, we should not be surprised by anything He does and we should trust Him by doing everything that He commands us to do. 

Jesus has been given ALL authority in heaven and on earth, therefore Jesus has authority right now. He is the King right now, seated at the right hand of God in heaven.

A king has a kingdom, otherwise he is not a king because he has no people or region to reign over. Therefore, His Kingdom is right now.

His Kingdom is not a centralized location, or a small plot of land on the earth.

His Kingdom is comprised of His people, who are scattered throughout the earth, from every nation, tribe, and tongue. He is their King, and they are His people. That is what the Kingdom of God is.

The King is currently overseeing His Kingdom from Heaven, but He is going to return to reign over His Kingdom from the earth. 

Jesus currently has all authority over evil and over all the powers and principalities of darkness. He demonstrated this by casting out demons, healing, and overcoming death.  

His disciples who comprise His body have been given authority to do these same things in His name.

They have not been given ALL authority, like He has, but He has empowered them with the Holy Spirit to act on His behalf through faith - authority to uphold justice and righteousness and to make disciples of all nations who will teach others everything that He commanded them. 

By doing so, the Kingdom of God continues to grow, demolishing the strongholds of evil, and overcoming the world. 

This is how evil is conquered, and God's kingdom comes to earth. Not by war and conquest, but by obedience to Christ who has authority over all the earth, which through God's love, transforms man's wickedness to love. 

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References 

[24] “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. [25] Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.  

[26] For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, [27] and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. [28] Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice [29] and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (‭‭John 5:24-29)

Romans 13:1-5 

[1] Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. [2] Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. [3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. [4] For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. [5] Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.