Happy Are The Persecuted

“Blessed are those who are persecuted” is one of the most uncomfortable lines Jesus ever preached, because it forces a question most of us avoid: if our faith never creates friction, are we actually living the Beatitudes at all? We walk through Matthew 5:10 and define persecution the way Scripture does, not as drama we create, but as real pushback that comes when you live for righteousness and the kingdom of heaven.

We also zoom out to the bigger reason it happens. There are two competing kingdoms, and they do not blend. The world teaches top-down power, self-first living, and happiness through comfort and possessions. Jesus teaches an upside down kingdom where power looks like serving, treasure is stored in heaven, and you cannot serve two masters. Along the way we hit hard passages from 2 Timothy, 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, John 15, and James 4 that make suffering, trials, and rejection part of normal Christian discipleship, not an exception.

Then we get practical. Persecution can mean losing influence, losing friends, missing promotions, or being treated like you’re “too much” the moment you say, “But Jesus.” We talk about why trying to make the gospel more palatable empties it of its force, and why bold faith doesn’t mean being obnoxious, it means being faithful. The challenge is simple: share one resource this week that points someone to Christ and start pushing back darkness in the places God actually put you.

If this convicts you, don’t sit on it. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review so more people can find it.

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Transcript

Disclaimer And Big Idea

Josh 0:01

Okay, well, good morning. As we jump into the message this morning, I'm gonna give you just like a little disclaimer out the gate. Like at one point when I was preparing this week, I went, man, I could just read the Bible for 40 minutes and just be done with this message because there's gonna be a lot of verses that come through it, right? So, that being said, if you're like someone who does take notes or you're like, hey, I missed you know this verse or this verse, just come see me after service and and I can show you all of the verses that I used this morning, especially there's this one section that there's gonna be a lot that just hit right after another. So again, if you're someone who needs that, just come see me after service and I can give you all the verses. With that being said, we're gonna jump into our big idea today, which is this happy are the persecuted. Now, in common sense logic, no one in this room should be going, yes, I'm persecuted and that makes me happy, right? Because persecution by its very definition is not a good thing. Like if you're being persecuted, this word is diakosis in the Greek, and and really what it means is this idea of being chased down and being pursued, being ostracized and pushed out. Like that's what that word really has, like in meaning. And so none of us should be sitting here like in the normal thoughts, going, what do you mean that should make me happy? So that's what we're gonna really dive into this morning. So I'll pray and then we'll jump in. Father, thank you so much for your word. And as we go through it this morning, I ask and I pray that, Father, it is just your word. It is not my opinion, it is not my thought, but God, it is your word speaking to your people to conform us to look more like your son. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Blessed For Righteousness Not Rudeness

Josh 1:46

So Matthew 5, 10 says this blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Real quick at the gate. Is it blessed those who are persecuted because they are jerks? No. Is it blessed are those who are persecuted because they use the Bible as a weapon to beat other people down with? No. It is blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. And what we have to understand is Jesus is wrapping up these beatitudes. We're gonna have another message last or next week about it because Jesus continues this thought next week. However, he's starting to wrap up the be attitudes, not the Sermon on the Mount, but the be attitudes. And this is the last one he's going to talk about. Now, what Jesus is really driving at as he is preaching this is if you are the other six, so if you are poor in spirit and you are one who grieves and mourns, and you are all of these other beatitudes, then persecution is what is going to follow. It's not necessarily if, it is when. And we've been talking about this a lot over the past two months. The

Two Kingdoms That Cannot Coexist

Josh 3:09

reason there is persecution to follow is because there's two different kingdoms we see. Remember, this is the upside down kingdom, right? Jesus is trying to show us, hey, this looks different. I know this is what you're taught, but this is how it is. And in a couple of months, we're gonna get to that famous verse where Jesus sits here and goes, hey, if someone slaps you on the right side, give them also the left cheek. That's not how we were taught. Most of us, if I have to guess in this room, you were taught you better not start a fight, but you finish it. Right? That is the opposite of what the Bible actually teaches, though. And that's what Jesus is driving at. He's sitting here going, you have the kingdom of the world, and then you have the kingdom of heaven. So you have these two competing kingdoms, and they are at war with each other. They are not compatible with each other. One of the worst bumper stickers that I ever see is that coexist bumper sticker. Because you can't take competing worldviews and put them together. We're seeing this a lot here in America right now, where we're starting to see these ideas, these especially these religious ideas from other religions that are sitting here going, hey, we can coexist in the same place. And what Jesus is saying here is we can't. And if you follow Jesus, you are going to be persecuted. And Jesus goes, you should be happy about that. And that's not easy for us. See, what we have to understand is the world says that power comes from the top down. Right? Like, think about any job you've ever had. Who has all the power at your job?

unknown 5:04

The boss.

Power Flips When We Serve

Josh 5:05

The boss, right? I remember, and I'll even give you, like, just from my own like construction days. I remember when I first started construction, it was here's a shovel and here's a mile of curb, I'm gonna make it really dirty, you go through and clean it. And the entire time I'm sitting there shoveling off, like, because our greater operator was terrible, and he would stack it like a foot and a half, two foot tall of lime rock, dura rock. So it's like not easy, right? So as I'm going through and I'm cleaning, the only thing going through my mind is man, if I was an operator, I mean, all they do is sit in an air-conditioned equipment all day with their feet up, waiting for me to go through and do all of the work. And then I became an operator. And I went, oh, like if the machine's not moving, we're not making money, so I have to be doing something at all times. There is no just, I'm gonna just kind of lean on a shovel like this and watch everybody else do stuff. And then I saw this guy driving around in a truck. And I went, he doesn't get out of the truck at all. Like, all he does is drive around and listen to the radio and tell everybody else what to do. So if I become a foreman, and then I went, oh, wait, that foreman has to go to weekly meetings with the project manager, and when he shows up, everybody tightens up on the job site. That's who I need to be. And then I went, wait, that project manager has to go to weekly meetings with these guys that work in a building that's not even close to the job site and it's completely air conditioned. And all they gotta do is like sit in this little office and point their fingers and tell people what to do. So if I'm them, and every step I went up, I realized, hey, this is where the power comes from. And then eventually you have an owner, and then when you become an owner, what do you find out? Oh, you're not actually like in charge of anything, the government gets to tell you everything to do. But see, that's the world, right? What does the Bible tell us? Power comes from the bottom up. We see this when Jesus is talking about the when when Jesus is washing the disciples' feet, right? They come in and understand the lowest slave in the house was the one who had the job to wash the feet. Why? Because feet are disgusting, regardless of what anyone in here will tell you. So they went, the lowest slave gets to do this. And instead, Jesus is standing there and goes, I will wash your feet. Because Jesus understands power doesn't come from up here down. Power of real power comes from down here up. The world will tell you that others are used to get what you want. That you build off of others. So think about it again, even if we're looking at that work situation, right? The more people like bosses I talk to, the more I hear the same thing. You can't find good help. You can't find someone that's willing to do, you can't find someone who's gonna sit here and pour and pour and pour and pour, and others become a means to an end in my life. The Bible would say this: count others more important as yourself. Count others as more valuable. Because if I give, and the greatest example I can give you of this is this you want a happy marriage? It's super simple. You guys ready? Just treat your spouse better than you treat yourself. Think of your spouse's needs before you think of your own. And if you do this and your spouse does this, a 70-year marriage is really easy. We run into problems when we think of ourselves and others as a means to an end. The world tells you this that happiness is found in your treasures here. The more you can stack up and the more toys you have, the happier you're going to be. But seriously, ask anyone you know who has really expensive toys how happy they are with their really expensive toys. Because really expensive toys that break are really expensive to fix. Like, seriously, there are people that I've talked to that have really expensive toys, and it's like their starter went out and they're like, yeah, it's $1,500 for the starter. And it's like, good God, like, you can buy a car with that. But see, Jesus says, don't stack your treasures up here because what's gonna happen to the treasure you stack up here? Rust and moths. In other words, everything we own one day is not gonna be worth anything. My boat, which is my most valuable worldly material possession, one day is not going to float. The motor is not going to propel it. Now, hopefully, peripherally, by that time it's JT's boat, and I don't have to worry about it. But it's going to happen. See, Jesus tells us, no, stack up your treasures in heaven. Because, see, there are these two competing kingdoms that tell us very opposite things. And if we're following after the world, you can't follow after Jesus. Like, we have to understand that. You can't serve two masters. You will either love one and hate the other. Think about it. You guys have a favorite parent, right? Like, you guys remember growing up? Like, I'll tell you right now, we do this to our kids all the time. Hey, hypothetically speaking, if mommy and daddy were to divorce, who would you go live with? We have two parents, or uh not two parents, we have two kids that are extremely honest and go, no offense, mommy. And then we have one that is like completely political and is like, neither. I'm going to live with Nana and I'll come visit both of you. Equal time.

unknown 10:53

Yes, ma'am. Yes, they will.

Josh 10:57

But think about it, we can't serve and follow in two different directions at the same time. And Jesus is sitting here going, if you follow all of these beatitudes, you're making yourself an enemy of the world. Not just like, hey, we don't look at things the same way. We are actively against one another. Because I can't follow that kingdom if I'm following the kingdom of Jesus. And if I'm an enemy of the world, do you think the world is going to accept me for who I am? No. Think about this. You guys, some of us are old enough, right? I know 9-11's hitting 25 years this year, right? What was one of the fallouts? Does anybody know like the amount of people that were here in America who were being persecuted just because they weren't born here in America on 9-12? Like it was huge. Like there were convenience stores and restaurants and all of these places that were like straight shutting down because they went, hey, people are coming and vandalizing my thing because they think I'm part of that. Whether they were or not. See the same thing. When the world looks at you and goes, hey, you're not part of us, you're fighting against us. What do you think your enemy, the devil, is going to do? Persecute you. He's going to pursue you. He's going to chase you. He's going to have a problem with you. In Acts 19, and you're not going to see it up here because it kind of just hit me while we were doing worship. But we see this story of Paul and the brothers or the seven brothers of Skeva. Okay, and they're they're going up and they're trying to exercise this demon out of a possessed man. Does anybody know what the demon's response to these seven brothers is? That's where they end with. Yes, good job, Miss Kathy. They go, Jesus, we know. Paul, we've heard of. But who are you? Understand. Like, one of the things we miss in that is the demon literally sits here and goes, we've heard of Paul. Paul is just a man just like us. Like Jesus, I get. When the demon's like, yeah, we get Jesus. We know the Son of the Most High. Like, I get that. But could you imagine pushing so hard against the powers of hell that even the demons go, yeah, we've heard of. We know her or him. Like, do you know what that takes? That the devil could sit here and look at you and go, you're a threat to my kingdom? Like, I don't know about you, but if you have testosterone in here, because I'm only hearing women right now. If you have testosterone in here, you should be sitting here going, yep. Because you were designed to fight. Like that's why you're bigger, stronger, faster, have better oxygen capacity and all the things. Right? We're not the same. And dignity, we are. Physicality, we are not. Like Gabby's big thing now is the gym, and she's telling, like, she comes home every day from the gym and she's telling me like her new PRs and and all of that. And I always have to qualify and go, for a girl, that's good. But if JT was coming home and telling me the same numbers, I'd be like, dude, you're weak. Like, do a push-up. Think about this. The demons know. How many in a how many of us in here? The demons are looking, going, I've heard of you. And how many of us in here, the demons are like, I don't care about you. Who are you? Like, what difference does it make? You ain't doing nothing to my kingdom. Because you're just kind of following along with the world anyway. You ain't pushing them back into the darkness. You're not grabbing people out of the world. You're not showing them Jesus. You're just playing this little game. I'm cool with you. You just stay busy doing what you're doing. Because who are you? See,

The Bible Is Not Self Help

Josh 15:03

we have to understand that there's this idea that crept into the church, and I'm not sure when. Jonathan Edwards is one of the pastors that I just, his his writing, like, his writing is just so deep. And I encourage you, if you don't read Jonathan Edwards, go home today and just look up Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. It's his like most prominent sermon that he ever wrote. In the hands of an angry God. Now, Jonathan Edwards, here's who he looked for. He didn't go to the towns and preach to the people. He went, all of these people you call savages, all of these people that were here when we got here, I'm gonna go preach to them. And Jonathan Edwards was sitting here going, I was a pioneer. He didn't, he wasn't thinking this, but like as we look back in history, we can look at and go, he is a catalyst for what we call the great awakening here in America. Because he went, I'm gonna push back into the darkness. And somewhere along the line, the church, we had this idea creep in that says, if I follow Jesus, my life is just gonna be all rainbows and never rain. And I go, where did this come from? Where did this idea that following Jesus is just like, hey, this makes my life better? This idea that the Bible is a self-help book. Listen, the Bible does not, yes, does the Bible talk about finances in the Bible? It does. And it gives us great principles. Does the Bible talk about marriage? It does. And it gives us great principles. But listen, the primary purpose of the Bible is not a self-help book. I'm not saying that if you follow what Jesus tells you to do, it isn't going to help you. I'm sitting here going, it's not a self-help book. It is literally God going, here's who I am. Here's who you are in me. Here is where your value and your worth come from. Because you are made in my image. But we have this idea in the church that if we just do these things, we can magically make our life better. You know who else did this? Anybody in here, are you familiar with Simon the Magician? So as the apostles are coming up in Acts, right, they're doing signs and wonders. Peter healed the lame beggar at the gate, like, you know, they're raising the dead. And this guy named Simon the Magician, he sees what the apostles are doing, and he comes to them and he goes, Hey, I want what you have. And so the apostles are like, Cool, like another one, like coming to find Jesus. And I hate that saying. I hate that I just said that because Jesus wasn't lost, he didn't come find him. But he's sitting here and going, another one coming to Jesus. However, Simon the magician only wanted what the apostles had so that he could do the things the apostles were doing and charge for it. And we have the same thing in the church now that if I just do these things, that's the secret to happiness. Listen, Jesus tells the people that follow him, the Son of Man himself, I'm homeless. I don't have anywhere to lay my head. I don't have the glorious life that you guys are seeking. But I would never sit here and try to make the argument that Jesus was not perfectly whole and content. Because he wasn't chasing the worldly things anyway. He was sitting here going, I don't go to that kingdom. And we have this idea that if we just follow, our life is just gonna be devoid of rain. Look, rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. In fact, what does the Bible say about following Jesus? Does anybody like, have we really dug into this? Because here's where all those rapid-fire verses are about to hit.

Why Trials Strengthen Real Faith

Josh 19:11

In in 2 Timothy 3.12, Paul writes this indeed, all who desire to live a godly life. How many? All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. How come like our gospel pitch is never, hey, you're gonna be persecuted? How come our gospel pitch is never, hey, like if you desire this, it's gonna be hard. But understand Jesus promises he'll be with you until the end of the age. Understand this means you have brothers and sisters who are sitting here going, I'm gonna walk with you through this. I'm gonna pray with you through this, I'm gonna pray over you because of this. I'm gonna be here to lend a hand. See, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. In 1 Peter 4, 12, it says, beloved. You know who the beloved are? Us. Followers of Christ. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial. Uh-oh. I don't know about you, but a fiery trial doesn't sound fun when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. And Peter goes, but rejoice. Insofar as you share Christ's sufferings. What? Yeah, Christ suffered. And see, and for the apostles to suffer the way Jesus did was a badge of honor because it meant I'm doing the things that Jesus did. It meant the people are looking at me the way they looked at Christ. This is why Paul in 1 Corinthians 11, 1, says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. Because I count it all a blessing to suffer. That you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and God rests upon you. In 2 Corinthians 2 12, 10, it says, For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong. See, Paul's sitting here going, let the world beat me down. Because the more the world beats me down, it drives me where? To Christ. Think about it. When do you pray the hardest in your life? Oh, yeah, when things are blowing up. Most of us, when things are just like normal. Normal, how's your prayer life? If you're honest with yourself, we ain't going to Jesus in prayer. We ain't hitting our knees. We ain't like shedding tears over it. We're not grabbing oil and anointing. We're just doing the basics, right? We're like, Jesus, you know, thank you for the bread. Help me wake up tomorrow morning. Give me good dreams. But man, when when we have calamities and hardships, I bet Kevin hasn't experienced as much prayer in his life that he did over the past couple of weeks. He had probably people reaching out. He didn't even remember had his number and was like, oh wow, like, see, when calamities and hardships hit, all of a sudden it's okay, now we can come out of the woodwork. Because when I am weak, I am strong. Because it drives me to Christ, which is where my strength comes from. It doesn't come from inside. Me and Debbie were talking last night, and I was like, you know what? Yeah, I know. Emotionally, I'm probably one of the strongest people I know. There's not a lot that gets to me. But the more I think about it, the more I go, I'm actually really weak and vulnerable because all of my value is based in my performance. So as long as I'm doing good, as long as this room's full, as long as Mission Academy is growing, as long as I catch a fish on this trip, I feel like I'm valuable. But what happens on the weeks when everybody decides it's vacation week? Am I still preaching with the same gusto? Or am I sitting here going, I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing? Because I'm actually a lot weaker than I think I am. But it's in those moments that I go, but if one person, I am strong. In 1 Peter 3.17 it says, for it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. It's better to suffer? Any of us, you agree with Peter on this one? You sitting here going, yeah, I would rather suffer and be in God's will. KB, who is a Christian music artist, says, I'd rather be in the jungle in the will of God than anywhere else outside of it. Is that our view though? Or are we like, no, I want to be in the will of God, but I also want the will of God to match up with what my heart's desire is, too. In 1 Peter 3.14, just a couple of verses before that, Peter says, but even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, isn't that what Jesus just said? Blessed are those who suffer or are persecuted for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled. In 1 John 3.13, it says, do not be surprised, brother, that the world hates you. Not tolerate you, not is like maybe on the same page with you, but that the world hates you. Think about this. We weren't allowed to say the word hate growing up because it's too strong of a word. Because when you hate someone, understand it is the complete opposite of loving that person. Hate is you see someone suffering and you just walk by. Hate is sitting here going, I will do everything in my power to drive you away from me. And first John is sitting here going, hey, don't be surprised. The world's going to hate you. You follow Jesus, you hold a banner up for Jesus, you sit here and go, King Jesus is still sitting on the throne. The world is going to hate you. It's not going to tolerate you. It's not going to coexist with you. It's not going to like try to be your friend. It is going to hate you. James 1, you're not going to see it up on the screen because it just hit me. Count it all a joy, my brothers, as you experience trials of various kinds. Because trials produce steadfastness and character. Understand, gold is refined in a fire. Diamonds are created out of pressure. Why do you want your life to be so easy? Because you want to know how much you're going to grow during the easy times? Not at all. Because when you're comfortable, you're never going to move. You didn't, you've never changed your behavior because everything was going good. You've never examined your heart because everything was feeling right. It's when you're persecuted. It's when you're pursued. It's when you're pushed to your limit that you have to either dig deep and find that something else, which is Jesus, or you just get crushed under the weight. And there's so many more we could go to. But at the end of the day, you have to sit here and go pick a team. And listen, in this game that we call life, there are only two teams. You can be team world or you can be team Jesus, but understand if you follow Jesus, if you live the life that Jesus is actually calling to you, you will be persecuted. Now

What Persecution Can Look Like

Josh 27:09

I want to talk about this word persecuted because I think we have a misunderstanding. Is persecuted being lined up and beheaded because you choose not to convert to a different religion? But is that persecution? Yes, that's persecution, right? All of you in this room this morning, though, are you in fear of that? No, right? Because we don't live in that place. I'm gonna tell you right now, y'all don't we don't, the church doesn't get their act together. Understand America can can turn into that place. There are cities here in America where Jews and Christians are not welcome. Right here in our country. And if you don't think that that could spread, well, the Middle East didn't either. So understand, yeah, that's persecution. You know what else persecution is? When friends walk away from you. Because they go, hey, we we don't believe the same things. And some of us were too busy holding on to friends that need to walk away from us. I've worked at uh a lot of Christian schools, and I'm here to tell you there was one, I'm not gonna call it out by name, but we had a Muslim, a Hindi, and a Buddhist student, and none of them were uncomfortable at the school. So we have conflicting worldviews here, and you're not uncomfortable. What does that say about our worldview? See, sometimes we need people to walk away from us. Sometimes God is sitting here going, no, listen to me, I'm pulling them away from you for a reason. Sometimes persecution is gonna look like, hey, you're not getting that promotion. You're not getting that job. They looked at your Facebook and they went, nope, you're not the person for this position. You're too political, you're too radicalized. There's a book over on the shelf. Oh, and by the way, if you have a book, please bring them back. I noticed the library the other day is cut in half, and it's been a couple of months. So if you haven't read it by now, you're not gonna read it, just bring it back. But there's a book over there called Radical. Maybe. Nope. Countercultures over there. Radical is in my office if you want to borrow it. And it's this idea that that's what we're called to live. We're called to be radical. Think about this, right? Jehovah Witness is a cult. I am not promoting Jehovah's Witness. They are a cult. They do not believe in the same Jesus you believe in. There is a lot of differences between that. They are not Christian. However, do they have any qualms about showing up at your house and knocking on your door and going, hey, let's talk about Jehovah? How many Christians came to your house this past year? How many knocked on your door and went, hey, let's talk about Jesus? Mormons, they're a cult too. They don't worship the same Jesus you worship. But are they afraid to get on their little bikes with their little ties and their button-up shirts and show up at your house? Uninvited. I will tell you, listen very carefully. Jehovah's Witness and Mormons do not show up at our house. I don't know if we are on a registry, but if you invite them in and you sit down and tell them who Jesus is, they do not come back to your house. It was a four and a half hour conversation where we provided lunch and drinks and all of the things. And we walked right through the gospel with it. And we have yet to see them come back. They go to our neighbors. And I'll even try to catch them when I see them at my neighbor's house and go, hey, let's talk. But listen, you could lose stuff because you're a radical. But why isn't the church doing these things? Because we're afraid to be persecuted. Do you think they have any fear of that? No. Think they got fear of people calling them names? No. This guy that's that just stands on random corners, sometimes I see him in Deltona, sometimes he's out in New Smyrna? You think he cares what you're saying as you drive by? No. Why? Because we're afraid. Persecution could be losing all your influence. Because let's be honest, once people find out you're Team Jesus, they may stop asking your advice. Because they go, Oh, I already know what you think. I already know what you're gonna say. And half the time I'm like, what? You tell me what you think I'm gonna say, and then let's have a conversation about it. And sometimes I'm like, yep, you're right, that is what I was gonna say. And then other times I'm like, no, that's not what I was gonna say at all. But you could lose your influence. Persecution could be people look at you and go, you're crazy. Go to someone and go, hey, I'm gonna take some oil, put it on my hands, I'm gonna lay my hands on you and I'm gonna pray, and tell me they don't look at you and go, no, you're not. I go, I'm the pastor and I have to force myself to do it because I'm like, that's not that's crazy. But think about this. When the first thing out of your mouth is, but Jesus, persecution could be thrown in jail. Guys, listen, if we're not careful, I'm telling you, there is coming a time to our country where they will throw you in jail. We came really close a couple years with it, where it wasn't okay to have your worldview. And understand, you ever notice that every other worldview was fine? Who is the only worldview getting called out? Who was the only one being called a hatred or hater, bigoted, prejudice, racist, homophobic, all of the bad things. It was just Christians. Why? Because the world hates us. Because it is persecution, because there are two kingdoms at war. That's why. It'll tolerate everybody else. Because it goes, you're not bringing people to the light, you're not bringing people to the cross, you're not bringing people to Jesus, you're not bringing what is dead back to life and allowing them now to go to war with the powers of darkness. And we shouldn't be surprised at this because Jesus himself in John 15 says this, if the world hates you. It's a conditional statement, right? If. See, the world's not going to hate what the world is. But if the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you go back to John 1, when Jesus is coming in, he came to his own and his own did not receive him. His own rejected him because the light of the world was coming into the world. But men love the darkness because their deeds are evil. Jesus sits here and goes, if the world hates you, no, it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. Listen, if you sound like, you act like, you talk like, they're going to love you as their own. But I chose you out of the world. Not gonna get into it. The words are what the words say, right? But I chose you out of the world, and therefore the world hates you. Why? Because there's two kingdoms at war. Jesus is sitting here going, my kingdom is not compatible with this world. Jesus knows that if you were to sit here and actually live the life he's calling you to live, if you were to sit here and actually call out sin, if you were to sit here and actively go, hey, I'm gonna talk to you about Jesus. If you were going to sit here and go, I am going to be the light in the darkness and I'm going to fight against the powers of darkness, the world will hate you. We used to have a joke at our house that if people stayed too long, all I had to do was put on a sermon. And all of a sudden they would be like, all right, we gotta go. And we've tested it many times. People are like a little longer than, you know, I'm ready for them to leave, and I don't want to be rude and go, hey, look, you gotta go. Because I have a problem with that. Let's put on hit the road jack. I would put on some, I would put on a couple of different pastors we listen to, and and next thing you know, they're they're they're okay, um, oh, it's getting late. Like gotta go. Why? Because these two kingdoms are at war. And if you're sitting here trying to live in both camps, listen to what James says.

Friendship With The World Breaks Faith

Josh 35:49

In James 4, 4, he says this do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Here's what that means. Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes him an enemy of God. We can't. See, we have this idea that if we can sound enough like the world, then the world will accept us. We have this idea that if we just sound like the world, then the world will listen to what we have to say. If we could just tone down what we're saying and be nice enough, then the world will listen. And I'm sitting here going, we don't see that anywhere in Scripture. People don't come to Jesus because they're sitting here going, like, hey, um. We water down everything we're saying because we're afraid to be offensive, we're afraid to look intolerant, we're afraid to not be inclusive, we're afraid that the world is going to reject us. And I go, listen, if we're doing it the right way, the world will reject us. If we're friends with the world, James just said we can't be friends with God. It is really black and white there. I can't have a foot in both worlds. Jesus said, You are in the world, but not of the world. In other words, you're called to look different. And understand, Jesus, in a couple of verses from now, is going to launch into that, that you are a light on a hill. You are the salt of the earth. Like he's building up to all of this. But this is why these churches that have an annual church at the movies, where they take whatever popular movie happened this year, and then they go, okay, now we're gonna just build a whole sermon off of this movie. And I'm gonna show you how the Bible was like interweaved into this secular movie. Instead of just going, hey, here's what the Bible says. Like I don't have to tie it to all of this other things. I don't have to try to twist all of this stuff to fit this narrative because it's more palatable for you. I can just sit here and go, but the Bible says. This is why the first thing I ever say in any kind of debate I have with anyone, where are you getting your information from and what does the Bible say about it? Because if it's not in here, understand it's an opinion. Because this is the authoritative word of God.

Stop Making The Cross Palatable

Josh 38:50

See, we try to water the crucifixion down because it makes people uncomfortable. Here's the deal: they nailed Jesus to a cross. It's straight murder. That is all it is. It was bloody, it was nasty, they took a cat of nine tails. And if you are not familiar with what that is, when Jesus got whipped, it wasn't like Indiana Jones with a bull whip. It is literally a handle that has nine different leather straps coming off of it, in which what they would do is take broken pottery and glass and all sorts of rocks and bones, and they would weave it into this whip. So that when they hit, all of these sharp things would dig into the flesh and they would literally have to rip it back out. So when Jesus goes to the post to be whipped, it's not just like that, like whoosh, it's bloody. By the time he's getting nailed to the cross, he probably has no skin left on his back. It is nasty. Why? Because Isaiah 53 says that by his stripes we are healed. It was not this pretty picture Easter service crucifixion that we see. And we have to stop. We have to stop trying to make it palatable for everyone. Listen, is the gospel message for every single person in the world? Yes, for God so loved the world. Is every single person in the world going to believe it? No. That's why Jesus says, broad is the way and many find that lead to destruction, but narrow is the way and few find that lead to life. We have to stop trying to make it palatable, though. We have to try to, we have to stop trying to be less offensive and more inclusive because we're afraid that if we go hard, no one's gonna walk in the doors. We have to stop being afraid to be persecuted, to be written off by like we're crazy, to be ostracized. And here's why. In Luke 9, 26, Jesus says this for whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Here's what Jesus is saying. You're ashamed of me. That when I return in glory, I will be ashamed of you. Like, seriously, like when you stand before Jesus, do you want him to go, you're shameful. And I don't say that as a threat. I sit here and literally go, like we examine our hearts. Do we calm all this stuff down and make it more palatable because we're ashamed? Because we're sitting here going, I don't want to draw that line in the stand, I don't want to take a stand. First Corinthians 16 33, it says that, right? Stand firm, be a man. Draw that line and go, here's where it is. Are you going to be persecuted? Yes. Is the world going to hate you? Yes. Are you going to lose friends? Yes. Is it possible you could lose your job? Absolutely. Is it possible to be ostracized and pushed out to the the margins and go, oh, they're just those crazy Christians? Yes, but is following Jesus worth it? Yes. Because we cannot be friends with both.

Context Without Compromise Like Paul

Josh 42:31

And I get it. Some of you in here are like, hold up, hold up. Because you are Bible scholars, and you go, well, in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says this to the Jew, I became a Jew. And to the Gentile, I became a Gentile, and to the weak I became weak, so that I may win some. So wasn't Paul friends with the world? Because he was trying to win? Understand, Paul's not changing who he is. This is talking about contextualization. And here's what that means. If I were to stand up here and read all of these verses in Hebrew and Greek and their original language, raise your hand if you would know what I'm saying. Okay. So what we do is we contextualize, and I read it in English because that's what we all speak in here. So when Paul is saying, hey, to the Jew, I became a Jew, well, Paul is already Jewish. He didn't have to become a Jew. What he's saying is, is I met them where they were. Like to the Gentile, it became a Gentile because he's going, if I would have gone to a Gentile and went, hey, the Jews' tradition and custom is this, they would have been like, What's that got to do with me? I'm not Jewish. When I went to the weak, and I and if he would have just been like, hey, just be strong, the weak would have been like, how? And that's what Paul's talking about there. He's not sitting here going, I'm friends with and I'm changing who I am. He's sitting here going, I'm contextualizing the The message of the gospel so that the people I'm talking to understand it. Because the same guy, if we go back to Acts 19 and we're looking at, oh well, was he a friend of the world? In Acts 19, we see him come in to town, and the silversmiths who are making idols for the town, they wind up going out of business. Does anybody want to guess why? Because Paul's sitting here going, that's it, enough with the idols. They have a revival in the town. People stop buying idols. The silversmiths who make the idols go to the town leadership and they go, hey, this guy came into town and took all of our business, and now we're all dead broke, and we need to arrest him and we need to have him killed. This is how Paul spends his life. There's a demon-possessed girl walking around town that's giving fortunes for everybody, and the guys that own her, because she's a slave? Like, like she's following Paul around and she's like trying to like get on his nerves, and she's like, hey, take your God and leave, and all of this because she knows Jesus, and Paul finally gets tired of it, turns around and like tells the demon to be gone, and now guess what? The demon's not in the girl anymore, so she can't predict anything. She doesn't have any fortunes to tell. So now the guys who own her go, hey, you just took away our moneymaker. Are we doing stuff like this?

Real Ways To Push Back Darkness

Josh 45:24

Sex trafficking's a big thing. Are we are we reaching into this? Are we pushing back against darkness with this? I mean, there are literally programs we can be involved with that literally have guys who go in at night with big guns into these places to pull these girls out. There are other organizations that literally will go places and buy people. They'll go, how much are you selling her for? How much are you selling them for? Here, I'll give you it. Now they're mine, and because they're mine, I'm gonna set them free. Where do they get that idea from? Jesus. Right there. I'm gonna take what is captive and I'm gonna set it free. They're pushing back into the darkness. They're literally sitting here taking a stand for what they believe. There are in in it was in uh Colorado. Churches came together and went, hey, you wanna know how we can get rid of abortion? If everybody in here would just adopt one child, we can totally rid abortion and foster care and all of the things. And you know what they wound up doing? Having to defund their foster programs because the churches went, we'll take them. Like that's taking a stand. Now, do you did you guys hear about that? Did that make the national news? Was anybody like saying how amazing this was? No, they weren't. Because that goes against the narrative. So was that church persecuted for it? Yeah. And they were like, shut up. You guys just do what you do over there. See, my question to us this morning is: are we being persecuted for righteousness' sake? Are we pushing back into the darkness? Are we making enemies with the powers of darkness? Or does the world not even care that we exist because we're no threat to the kingdom of this world? I had a pastor friend of mine that was with us at bowling yesterday, and he was like, hey man, do you know like the percentage of kids that come to your school that go to the church? I was like, no. I'm gonna be honest, like that's an admin Debbie question. Like, I don't even know all of the kids that come to the school. Like, I know the ones that are in high school, like and he's like, I'm just saying, man, like, do you guys use it as a mission field for that? Because I have a buddy who works at a different private school, and he was telling me, like, 65% of the kids at his school, they don't they don't go to church there, and and most of them don't even go to church anywhere. Do you guys offer anything like that? Is there any way for you to work that in? And I was like, well, way to call me out, because I haven't even thought about that. I don't know. See, I I go, the reason the persecuted are happy is because the persecuted know they're pushing back against the darkness. They know they're making a difference, they know the blind are given sight and the captives are being set free, that the dead are given new life. One. If you go all the way into Revelation, it's not gonna be up on screen, but if you go all the way into Revelation and it says that when one person is saved, all of heaven rejoices. Do we do that? Or we just like cool, they got saved. All right. Where are we going for lunch? Like you guys, I don't know if you're familiar with the church of 1122, they're up in Jacksonville. They did make the news a couple of months ago because they did beach baptisms and had over 2,000 people in one day go, I believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be, and I want to be baptized. Guys, understand that's like axe-level stuff right there. When 3,000 came to believe. Why aren't we doing the same thing? Why aren't we pushing into the darkness? Why aren't we being persecuted for righteousness' sake? Is it because the world goes? You're not a threat to me. Think about it. If someone just came walking in here, am I gonna pull my gun out and start shooting them? No, someone just came walking in the door. Like any of you, did I pull my gun out and shoot at anyone when they walked in this morning? Would you say, Mr. Allen? Because that's where I was driving. Yep, only if they're a threat, right? If you're just walking in, you're like, hey, good morning. I'm not gonna be like Why? Because you're not a threat. There's no reason to attack you. Hopefully you hear Jesus. But if you walked in carrying an AK, am I gonna stop and ask questions? No, I'm not. I'm not gonna be like, hey, what's your intention on being here? Are you here to I'm not. Because I'm not gonna give you the opportunity because now you're a threat. Are we being persecuted because we are a threat to the kingdom of this world? Are the things we say, the things we share on social media, the things that we build in our life, are they pointing others to the cross or to the world? Are we pointing people to Jesus or to the world? Because those are the only two places we can point. There isn't a third option. If we're not being persecuted, are we fighting for the kingdom of heaven to begin with? Or are we just kind of skating through it?

One Simple Challenge For This Week

Josh 51:35

Our challenge this week is to fight against the kingdom of this world. To actively enter into that fight. And here is how. This week, share one resource. It could be a podcast, it could be a sermon, a sermon clip, a devotional. You could share the sharing center. I mean it's in the name. You could share any resource that you, a book or whatever. And not for nothing, shameless plug. I will be here all day creating all of the resources for this week. Every morning at 6 a.m., there is an audio version of our daily devotional. You want to get your day started right? Go look for the field brief wherever you listen to podcasts and hit subscribe. It comes out every morning at 6 a.m. It is five minutes or less. I'm not trying to take up all of your time, but it is a good way to get your day going in the right direction. If you're like, hey, I don't listen to podcasts, I don't want it like knowing. Cool, we have a written one. And if you down, if you go on missionscent.org forward slash church, it's under the blog, understand all week will be up in the next like three hours. Like you don't even have to guess what's coming out on Friday. But it's a good way to start your day because it puts us in the right mindset. We have videos that come out every Tuesday and Thursday. We have everything that comes out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Facebook. I do all of this because, like I said in the announcements, you know how easy it is for you to go click share. Listen, yes, I need people that are willing to stay after for 30 seconds and record a video. I don't want it always just being Kayla and Gappy. Some of us, we need to start stepping up and going, hey, you know what? I need to start pushing in. No, I'm not comfortable with doing all of this, but you know what, put my face on there because I need other people to see that yes, I'm gonna stand for what I believe in too. I'm all I'm doing is sitting here going, hey, one thing you learned today and one thing you're gonna do. That's it. How long does it take you to record? It takes her a minute if she's by herself. If she's with Kayla, it probably takes like six minutes. But I sit here and go, this is how we push back. Like, yeah, I know I give like huge examples when I'm sitting here going, human trafficking and this and this and this and this. Like, yeah, those are big examples. And understand, those are things we should be thinking through too. Those are things we should be sitting here going, hey, we need to push into this too. I'm not saying you guys need to go get guns and go do this. I'm saying there are organizations we can partner that already do this. And some of you, yeah. You knew need to be starting to go, should I go get a gun and go do this? Because you're about to hit that military fighting age. Some of you already have. And it's sitting here going, push back. All I'm saying is do one thing this week. Just push back in some way. It could be a simple text, but push back into the darkness. Push against it. If you're not being persecuted for righteousness' sake, are you fighting against the world? Or are you fighting with it? As always, if you need to talk or pray, I am here, I will be here till about 2.30 today. So you have plenty of time.

Prayer For Boldness And Courage

Josh 55:15

So, Father, I ask and I pray that as we move from this moment, that God, you give us the ability to be courageous and bold. That Father, you put into our hearts the blessing it is to share in your suffering for righteousness' sake. Father, I ask and I pray that you give us the desire to push back and fight against the kingdom of darkness. Father, I hate praying this. But I'm going to. Father, I ask that we become such a threat to the kingdom of this world that persecution does come. And I know that's a scary prayer for most of us in this room. But Father, I ask that we are blessed through it. Father, I ask and I pray that by the power of your kingdom, that we are a light in the darkness, a hill, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Father, I ask and I pray that you give us all the ability this week to do one, to push against one, to push against the powers. Because God, we don't come in our power. We come in yours. And that we advance the kingdom of heaven in our lives. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.