The Promise of Persecution

January 28th, 2024
The Promise of Persecution
Speaker - Taylor Justice
Sermon Notes

Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact it is a joy and not a token of his grace.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

John 16:33

Matthew 5:10-11 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

The ________________ of Persecution.

Matthew 5:10

2 Timothy 2:11-13 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

Romans 8:16-17 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

2 Thessalonians 1:4-5

Matthew 5:11

John 5:18 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Matthew 10:18, Matthew 24:9, John 15:20-21

2. How should Christians __________ to persecution?

Daniel 6:1-5 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Matthew 5:11

Daniel 6:6-9 6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

Matthew 5:10, Daniel 6:11, Daniel 6:22

3. The ______________ persecution of the _____________ and the call to ________________.

Revelation 13:7 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,

Daniel 7:21-22 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
Revelation 17:15

Matthew 5:10, Daniel 7:25-27,2 Timothy 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5, John 16:33