I should have said this before, because you've already closed your songbook, but the author of that 397 in the red is J. Edwin Orr, and that name may not be very significant to you, but let me just tell you quickly, you know the name R.C. Sproul, of course. Well, his mentor, Sproul's mentor, was John Gerstner. And you may or may not know that name, but the mentor of John Gerstner was J. Edwin Orr. So the spiritual grandfather, as it were, of R.C. Sproul is the author of that 397. And the significance of revival in the historic Reformed faith ought not be lost on us. It is indeed Good aspect of the work of the spirit to be understood in the reformed faith as well So please Lord revive your church continues to be our plea as well Well congregation that has something to ponder and think about but let's open our Bible this morning to the book of Matthew now if you saw the email, you know that will return to mark next week Lord willing and So we'll be in chapter 14, so do some review if you have time in the book of Mark and read up and catch up, as it were, to where we are in chapter 14. You'll see a reason why we've delayed when we come back next Lord's Day morning to that beginning of chapter 14 in Mark. But this morning to Matthew in chapter five, and especially for our day and age, Particularly important and weighty things will consider this morning Very familiar words Matthew 5 beginning at verse 1 Now when he saw the crowds he went up on a mountainside and sat down His disciples came to him and he began to teach them saying Blessed are the poor in spirit For theirs is the kingdom of heaven Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Now our text begins here. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. and thus far beloved God's glorious and perfect word. And we see ourselves then aligned with and in union with the prophets of our God. Well, then let's pray and ask for help in the boldness that he gave to his prophets, shall we? Oh, Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning needing what you have promised, seeking the food that we get spiritually from your word Believing, oh Lord, that your word never returns to you void. And so we pray by faith, asking now that you would help us. Lord, help us to receive this word. Be with the one who brings it. Lord, may there be power where there is a sense of weakness, both in the preaching and in the receiving of that word preached. And give to your church, oh Lord, in these days. that protection and a sense of it unto boldness that we need. Oh Lord, hover over and hide your church under the cross, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Dear congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, what is a Christian? What is she like? How might we define him? Are there words? Are there truths? Is there a definition of a Christian man or a Christian woman which would be true today for every country in the world, for every circumstance? Could we say that a Christian man is this way in America or in England? Could we say that a Christian woman is this way in China, Indonesia, anywhere else, that is, is there a definition of the word Christian that is true for every place and for every age? Could we say that a Christian woman who lived in 1624 is, by this definition, the same as a Christian woman who lives in 2024, are both equal? Is there a continuing definition of Christian? Well, of course, you're anticipating the answer to be yes, and that is the answer, yes. And in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we find one such universal definition of a Christian, including the verses 10 through 12, our text. Christians in America in 2024 or in any other country are called by Jesus blessed if we are willing to suffer persecution for the sake of his name. That then brings up the question, now why do we approach it this way? Because you see, beloved, though I'm not a prophet in the sense of that we understand that prophet or the son of a prophet, I'm more and more convinced that we have entered now onto the era, the time in history, where what's told to us in these verses here in America is all the more a very real possibility. Suffering persecution for the sake of the name and the honor of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ something your grandparents and mine Really wouldn't have considered a real possibility in America We're on the cusp it's before us So the Lord proclaims his blessing on all who suffer for the honor of his name the Lord proclaims his blessing on all who suffer for the honor of his name and Well, let's ask them this question first. What is Jesus talking about here? So most most faithful commentators see verses 11 and 12 as an extension of what he says in verse 10 and application of verse 10. I agree with that. You see, to be persecuted for verse 10. Righteousness notice that phrase because of righteousness. is to say in verse 11, that we are persecuted because of him. If verse 10, we are to consider suffering, being persecuted, being insulted for living rightly, verse 10, that means verse 11, the same thing as saying, we live for the honor of his name. And then he says in verse 12, this is what the prophets of the old covenant also endured. Though they didn't yet see Jesus clearly, in embryonic form they were suffering for his name. So what is Jesus talking about? He is addressing here an action taken against certain and distinct persons, that action being called persecution. or being insulted, or being harassed, or being maligned, actions taken against certain people, those people being Christians, Christ ones. We would say us. Actions which hurt. We feel them. We sense them. It's not an amorphous something somewhere that you can't really get a hold of, but it's an experience that you endure, and after you have endured it, you say, I know what that was. I experienced it. You might be on the sidewalk or at the market. You might be at an event. You might be at a family gathering, and somebody insults you for being a Christian. They slap you, they spit on you, they throw things at you because you say, I am a Christ follower. This is what Jesus is talking about here. And in such satanic anger, Christians are killed all the time. Now, we haven't gotten there yet in America, largely. But in other countries, right now, as we sit here, it's happening. Persecution that hurts even to the point of death. Well, let's see something of this in the Bible. Open your Bible for a moment with me, if you wouldn't mind, to Hebrews 11. Now, we're just going to look here at one passage. But it's significant. So to Hebrews 11. And we'll begin at verse 32. What does this persecution look like? And notice here, beginning in verse 32, we see the positive side of the life of the Christian. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised. who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. And then seemingly without any other reason, doesn't seem to be indicated clearly why all of a sudden, The shift comes. Others were tortured and refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging. Let me pause there. Jeers were there. That is insults, name calling, verbal harassment. We're there in terms of politics, in terms of the policies being passed by legislators, by the ideas that oppose Christianity in the world. We are there at Jears. Now, flogging. Flogging is, of course, something Jesus endured. It's the taking of a leather strap that has sewn into it pieces of bone or sharp stones sewn into the leather straps, and then the person is whipped. with those leather straps, the intention being that the flesh, the skin is ripped. We're not at flogging yet. While still others were chained and put in prison, yes, Christians today. Verse 37, they were stoned. They were sawed in two. History recounts that Isaiah was one of the prophets who was sawed in two and that by a wooden saw, why wouldn't, so that it took longer and so that it hurt more, sawed in two. They were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground. And listen, these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. We are that us, aren't we? When we consider these things, beloved, we have to consider the possibility, and I say this perhaps to parents in regards to your children, we have to consider the possibility that for your children, they may face some of these things. I said in prayer, and I think it is Easily proved that the older folks of the congregation Look around at the world and they see a world that is vastly different almost impossibly Different to conceive of in relationship to the world that they grew up in Today is acceptable to now back to Matthew 5 verse 11 today it is acceptable verse 11 to insult Christians It is acceptable in the world culture, especially now in the West, to insult Christianity. But if you try that with any of the other major world religions, you'll be found in contempt of the law, thrown in jail. There is a certain sense, and I'm not trying to be harsh. But there is a certain sense in which we need to wake up out of the 1980s, 1990s, early 2000s, thinking of how things were and realize how things are. It's already begun to happen to the church, to Christians, Because when we read a passage like this, if again I say we were seated in this room in 1980-something, and a preacher was preaching on verses 10-12 in the times of the moral majority and the power of Christians and culture and politics of those days, we would have said, well, that seems an awfully long way away. How about today? How about now? So when faced with the possibility of suffering for Christ, we choose to honor his name and are called blessed by it. It brings to the fore the very real possibility of suffering. Well, then secondly, why might we be included in this group? Well, notice now the words a little bit more carefully. Why might we be included in this group? Because verse 10, the Holy Spirit, and by the word of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, talks about righteousness. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now, keep hold of that phrase, the kingdom of heaven. We're gonna go back to it in a minute. And again, verse 11, blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you. The verse doesn't stop there. It really wouldn't make sense if it stopped there. That last prepositional phrase is of exceedingly weighty significance. Because of me. Why might we be included in this group? Well, the answer again is because of Jesus Christ. We say. I am a Christian. And when we say that at work, people might notice. When we say that in our neighborhood, people's radars might go up. When you say in politics today, I am a Christian, You've just put a mark on yourself. When we discuss that in terms of ethics or or finances or entertainment or relaxation or sports or time or talent or speech or actions and reactions or anything else, when we say I am a Christian, it means verse 10 that we are striving to uphold righteousness and verse 11 that we are striving to uphold the honor of his name. This has always been in the history of the world the bullseye on the back of the Christian in a time when Christianity is falling into disrepute, like in our day. There's something interesting to consider about this, beloved, and that has to do with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The first year of his earthly ministry, he was very popular. The second year began a downward slide out of popularity toward angst and anger, and by the end of his years of ministry, other than the triumphal entry, his popularity was very much over, and they wanted him, what? Crucified. Where are we at today? In terms of the cultures evaluation of Christianity. When it is our desire and our striving to uphold in culture and in ethics and in government and in policies and at work and in the home and in our family relations, the righteousness of God. The honor of his name. The persecutions will come. Subtle at first. Soft. Quiet behind your back first. But then eventually in your face. And so Jesus is saying that we are included in this blessed group because because we see the wisdom and the love and the fruitfulness and the joy and the peace and the honorableness of upholding the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter the circumstances and no matter. The pushback. And if we are in that group, we are called blessed. Does this seem obvious to us? Does this seem clear? Let's put a little bit more feet under it. Let's say we're in a group at school. You've been invited to your school reunion of whatever year. You're in a mixed crowd now. And you say there at your school reunion Only Jesus' definition of salvation is the true definition of salvation. Now that's a very soft group for most of us to be a part of, because especially if you graduated in a Christian school, you probably assume that's probably the shared view of everybody. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, now 30, 40, 50, 60 years later. But try that at a public meeting of any kind. even here in Oak Lawn. Go to a public meeting and say in the midst of all those people from our community that only Jesus' definition of salvation is the appropriate, true, right definition of salvation. Do you think then you'll get complete agreement? Put a little bit more teeth to it and say something like this. The plan of so-called salvation for Muslims and Hindus and Mormons is wrong. It's just wrong. And see what kind of response you'll get. When we say only Jesus' definition of sexuality is true, we will be insulted by those who want to separate gender from birth sex, And we will be insulted by those who want to say that a man can sleep with a man and a woman can sleep with a woman, and there's nothing wrong with it, they say. When we say, no, only Jesus' definition of sexuality is appropriate and right, we will come under persecution. What's going on here? Verse 10, we are seeking to uphold righteousness. Verse 11, we are upholding the honor of his name. Or to put it now with verse 12, we are acting like the prophets of old. We'll come back to that in a moment too. What about when it comes right down closer to home for us? When we say that only Jesus' definition of our use of our money is appropriate, but our investment expert told us something else, and we're not listening to the advice of our investment expert because we think we ought to use our money more for the kingdom of God than for our own retirement, we might be open to the quiet charge of foolishness. But what choice will we make? When we say, you see, that only Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we will become fair game for those who demand that the job is Lord, the hobby is Lord, the sport is Lord, the retirement fund is Lord, the comfort and ease and convenience that our world wants to foist on us is Lord. All of those so-called Lords are in conflict and contest with the Lord, Jesus Christ. And in soft ways initially, which grow harder because of the circumstance of our culture and its growing darkness, the soft ways will get harder and harder and harder. Which leads us to consider thirdly, which church-going people will be excluded from this group? To get at this, we need to arrive at honesty hour. Honesty hour. How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself included in the group willing to accept persecution? Now, why do we put it that way? Follow this. In each of the Beatitudes, beginning at verse three, there is an action born of grace and worked out, lived out by grace, which action is spoken of To be seen. And in every case that action spoken of, which is to be seen, that is to be lived out, it is definitional of a Christian. Well, here's another example. Look at verse seven. It's a wonderful beatitude. If you are not one who shows mercy, willingly shows mercy, runs to somebody else to be merciful, even when they sinned against you, if you are not one who is merciful, overwhelmingly merciful, you will not be shown mercy. That is to say you are probably not a Christian. Now again, why do we put it that way? Because what the Lord Jesus Christ is talking about, you find it in verse three. You find it again in verse 10. What he is addressing and showing is a display of what the kingdom of heaven looks like on earth. He says, here is how you note, you observe, you can see the kingdom of heaven on earth. These are the ways. It's not that we earn God's favor. It's not that we earn heaven by living these ways. Oh, if I can do all of the Beatitudes, well, then God's going to accept me. No, no, it's not that. But rather, as these are the responses of, I said, grace leads us to live these ways. But that only partly takes away the stress of it. Because if you say, well, I am a Christian, I have been saved by grace, but you don't live these ways, you ought to call into question your profession. Well, if that is obviously true about verses one through nine, is it also true about verses 10 through 12? If you are one who says, no thank you, when it comes to the opportunity to stand for Christ, but unavoidable persecution will result, then you need to ask about your walk with Christ. Go to your next family gathering. And at that next family gathering, say to those two people who are cohabitating together, sleeping together when they are not married, and say to them, it is against God's righteous law for you to be living that way. And if you don't change your patterns and behaviors, you're going to go to hell. If you don't trust in Christ in a fulsome way, in a life-changing way, you're in danger of the fires of hell. Say that at your family gathering to those people and see what happens. Are we willing to live that way? Well, let's consider that again in terms of verse 12. Because Jesus says to us. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you, why were the prophets persecuted? Was it because when they went to the family gathering and there was such an obvious sin being lived out before them, they covered their mouths and said nothing? No. It is because they said, thus saith the Lord. No, we don't do that in a mean spirited way. We don't do that to win points. We don't do that to say I'm better than you are, because of course none of that is true. But we say it out of love and concern. Churchgoers in America today right now are in grave danger if they refuse to speak up because they know it will cost them to do so. If this week a churchgoer in America is put into a position where they have the opportunity to speak openly about an issue that's clearly spelled out in God's word and they refuse to do so because they will suffer for it, then they are in grave danger, spiritually. What about jokes, just as another example? This happens so frequently and so easily. Somebody at school, somebody at work tells a joke in the family gathering. They tell a joke that maybe softly but unavoidably maligns the name or the nature or the character of God or besmirches his church and the whole gathering laughs and you join in and laughing because you know that if you don't, you'll be singled out and people will say, why aren't you laughing? And you'll have to answer. It's so easy to be so soft about these things and to find ourselves in grave danger. Beloved, we need to realize the significance of the day in which we live that more and more it will be the case that we will be faced with the challenge of whether we will or not suffer for the name of Christ. Are we open to the insults? Are we open to the mocking? Are we open to the danger? Fourthly then, prayerfully plan for a great reward by grace. Because all of that, beloved, in the negative doesn't yet help us address the positive. What is Jesus saying here about true Christians? the true Christian who is willing to accept persecution in order to uphold the honor of his name. Verse 10, willing to uphold righteousness, willing, verse 11, to maintain the glory of his name in all circumstances and situations. He says, such ones are blessed. The original language, by the way, of verse 12, the NIV doesn't quite get at it that much, but the original language of verse 12 says something like this. Rejoice with overwhelming joy. Rejoice exceedingly. Be glad because your reward in heaven is coming. No, I think, beloved, we also ought to consider the opportunity of rejoicing overwhelmingly so in the face of persecution is already a part of the reward. Because in doing so, we are saying, what happens to me in this world doesn't define me. It doesn't define my eternal reality. And so when Jesus says, rejoice overwhelmingly, rejoice with overwhelming joy in verse 12, it's something that's beginning now. It's not to wait. It's happening now. By the way, that verse 12 is in the command part of the original language. Rejoice with great joy. Because somebody comes up to us, and they say to us, oh, you're a Christian? What a sad person you are. And you say, well. Saved by grace. Saved by grace. Now, honestly and truly. The weightiest part of the reward about which Jesus is speaking. Is yet to come. By the way, we'll look at this a little bit more carefully. At our Ascension Day service on Thursday night. But we can ask at least this question this morning. Is Elijah in heaven? How about Elisha? Isaiah? Jeremiah? Are they in glory? Will we see them and know them? Of course you're saying, well, of course they are. Yes, we will. But do you see the point? Think about Jeremiah for a moment. The weeping prophet. Persecuted in ways we wouldn't want to even think possible for us or our children and grandchildren. And yet right now they are enjoying peace and beauty and joy and comfort and glory. Oh beloved. The nature of the Beatitudes is a description of life in the kingdom of heaven. Let me say this again, and we need to consider this morning as something to be pondered. If the citizens of the kingdom of heaven don't live this way, including accepting persecution, if the citizens of the kingdom of heaven don't live this way now in America, in the West, There will be no way to see the proof of the kingdom of heaven. Do you see that? There will be no way to see it, to observe it, to note it. What proof will there be of it? Jesus says to you and to me, we're the proof. As inconvenient or even painful as that might be, Let's ask the question now finally one other way. Is there any power, any energy, any vitality in the church in America at this moment? If you wonder about that question and ask, well, where is it to be seen? Where is that power and that vitality and that energy to be seen? Look in the mirror. And I'm doing the same. I'm looking in the mirror. Because this is what the Lord says. We're not ashamed of Jesus in public, are we? We can't be ashamed of Jesus in public. We're not ashamed of Jesus here in this room this morning, are we? And Christians in churches all across America on the Lord's Day, they're not ashamed of Him in church, are they? Neither can they be on Monday and the rest of the week, in public, in politics, in family, in every part of life. We are not ashamed of the Lord, even if that causes us discomfort. Amen. Our Father in Heaven, we come to you this morning because we know these are difficult truths to accept. This is not always the kind of preaching we want. And yet, Lord, we need to hear these things from you, from your word. You have given to us your word. Help us this morning, oh Lord, our God, to accept it. And by grace, to live for your glory, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, congregation, let's sing that of some of these things at 457 Lord Jesus. Can it ever be? Will stand to sing 457.