I please Almighty God to bless
us together tonight as we meditate in His Word. Let us turn to the
fifth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew and we'll read verses
11 and 12. The fifth chapter of the Gospel
of Matthew, reading verses 11 and 12. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad,
for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. It was probably in the middle
of last week that these words really came into my heart. Just the two words, exceeding
glad. I wasn't sure really where they
were. And I searched out and I found
out here they were in the last verse of what we really call
the Beatitudes, where the Lord commenced his sermon on the mount
and spoke to the multitudes And he concluded with, of course,
the twelfth verse before he went on to speak about the salt of
the earth and the light, etc. And it's really quite amazing
as we think these were some of the very first words that Jesus
really spoke or preached when he was on the earth, when he
was revealed after he'd been baptized in Jordan. And he came
and he preached these wonderful words. we might think it's very
strange really because most of these really are quite negative
we might say in what they refer to. It starts off with the poor
in spirit being blessed and then they mourn being blessed and
the meek and hunger and thirsting merciful and pure in heart and
peacemakers And then they which are persecuted for righteousness
sake. And then lastly, he comes down
to this statement here. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for my sake. And if we just ponder these verses
really, we won't really go through them at all, but surely they
should be an encouragement to the Church of God. because as
we journey on through life, on our pilgrimage, there are many
occasions when we enter in to the description that the Lord
speaks of those who are blessed. We might think on the face of
it, well, surely this is not a good attitude or not a right
attitude, but yet you see the Lord commends it. And then he
speaks of the wonderful blessings that attend such. And as we come
down to this last statement, again he encourages the Church
of God, especially down through the ages. The true Christian
has never had an easy path, an easy walk. There's always been
opposition. There's always been persecution. There's always been reviling
and all manner of evil spoken falsely against the true Church
of God. We only have to look at the life
of the disciples and especially the life of Jesus himself. where
when he was brought to the judgment hall, what did they do? They
brought false accusations. And we should not be therefore
surprised if people bring false accusations against us. As you and I often say, these
truths and these statements and these facts really do have and
should have a good effect because They should make us consider
where we are and consider the comparison of our lives with
the blessed Saviour himself. And I believe that when we can
recognise that the Lord walked such a path with opposition continually,
he never had an easy path. It was difficult at all times
and how he was indeed persecuted and reviled and spoken against
him falsely. So whatever of those conditions
we may find ourselves walking in, and we may sometimes perhaps
feel sad, we may even feel bitter that we are called to walk such
a path, let us always refer to the gracious and glorious life
of the Saviour and realise He endured And therefore, in some
small measure, we are privileged to walk a similar path. And I
believe in that path, there is the great blessing of fellowship
with his sufferings. So we should therefore not be
surprised at the difficulty of the journey. And we may have that in two ways.
We may have it in an outward physical way, We may have it
in an inward spiritual way in our very hearts. But whatever
way it is, it will be difficult and it will be painful. And yet
what a blessing it is to realise the favour it brings of fellowship
with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we have such a statement
like this tonight to encourage us really as we walk through
this world, this world is not our home. We should never think
it's going to be a comfortable place to live in, although naturally
we always strive after natural comforts. And yet you see, it's
very clear that this world is not the rest of the people of
God. It's not the home of the church
of God. We're just traveling through
and the word of God describes it. that we are pilgrims and
strangers on this earth. And therefore, if that is so,
surely we should expect some of this opposition, revilings,
persecutions and evil speaking against us falsely because people
don't want to believe in the true God. They don't want to
believe there is a God in heaven. They don't want to have a God
who they have to bow down to a God who they have to trust,
a God who they have to commit their way unto. They want to
walk their own way. So we see, therefore, the word
of God is, always has been, and always will be a dividing word,
and it will separate between those who are true believers
and those who are false believers. And we could perhaps say that
if we are a true believer, we will understand what the Lord
spoke in these verses about those who are blessed. And it would
be a great blessing, therefore, if you and I can examine our
spiritual life and be able to trace out these verses and say,
well, I understand what the Lord's saying. What a wonderful thing
it is to be encouraged, therefore, in that path, and to not think
we're on the wrong road, we're on the wrong route, we're walking
contrary, that's why things are difficult. It's because the Lord
has ordained that it should be so. And so this evening, to think
of this great truth, blessed, remember, blessed. Blessed are
ye when men shall revile you. Well, I wonder whether we really
are able to do that. Perhaps we feel very sad. Perhaps
we feel very upset about it. Perhaps we feel very hard done
by. See, that's why the Lord leaves
such an encouraging word to say that such who are reviled, spoken
against, blessed but there's a very important statement it's
not just without a reason and that reason is at the end of
this 11th verse where it says for my sake you see it that's
the real secret and that's where the blessing comes in if it's
not done for the Lord's sake then there won't be any comfort
and there won't be any blessing we're just doing it for our own
sake they're just trying to justify ourselves won't be any true benefit. But if we have this true wonderful
desire to do these things, to walk rightly in this evil world,
and the following verses in this chapter really clearly speak
about the profession that the true Church of God should make,
and in doing it we can expect really a path like these earlier
verses encourage us in. And so we're told, ye are the
salt of the earth. And then that's explained. But
if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
Well, we know there's no point in putting salt on the food if
there's no flavour in it. Wouldn't be any benefit at all.
And that's so true with regard to the living Church of God.
If they're not salted, you might say, or blessed in their souls
and able to give a good account, then there's no real benefit.
And as the word tells us here, it is henceforth good for nothing
but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot. And that would
be a sad thing, wouldn't it, if in our lives our profession
doesn't show the grace of God doesn't show forth the love of
the Saviour and therefore there's no real good effect. And then
also the Lord spoke, speaks about the light and he tells us, ye
are the light of the world. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ
is the light of the world. But there should be that wonderful
reflection from him to us which shows forth our walk in this
world that there is that to be noticed ye are the light of the
world and then we're told a city that is set on a hill cannot
be hid again it's an easy illustration to understand isn't it you know
if there's a hill and there's a city on the hill at night time
you can't but fail to observe it because of the light which
emanates from that city and so he tells us Neither do men light
a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house. And that very clearly
means that we are not to hide our light. It's to be evident
that we are a true believer, that our hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood righteousness and so the Lord graciously says
let your light your light and my light so shine before men
before men and that's a total statement not before some men
not before good men but before men that they might see your
good works and glorify your father which is in heaven and it is
of course through hearing God's Word and walking in that way
that we're likely to come into these situations where we are
reviled and we're persecuted and people speak all manner of
evil against us falsely. And very often because they do
not understand, of course, the effect of the grace of God in
the heart and the benefit of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the Lord, remember, preached
these words and they haven't gone out of date. They are relevant
to you and me today. But you see, with this situation,
the Lord then very graciously encourages us. And it's in quite
an amazing way, really. He says this. Rejoice and be
exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted
they the prophets which were before you so if we find ourselves
in this situation where we are we might say persecuted or reviled
or spoken against we should not say oh dear I can't really face
this it's really too difficult the pathway is very hard The
Lord says, rejoice, rejoice. And we are to rejoice because,
as we read in another place, to realize we're counted worthy
to suffer for his sake. And again, you see, that brings
in a comfort because we enter in to that blessed communion
with the Lord Jesus Christ. As you and I may be able to commit
our way to the Lord. You see, we can tell the Lord
about the difficulty. He understands it. He's walked
that way. It's not something unknown. And he will have compassion and
he'll strengthen and he'll help us to carry on, to press on against
all the opposition. And therefore to think that now
the Lord says, rejoice. The opposite really to what you
and I would think by nature. We probably want to go and hide
and disappear and get away from it all. And yet here the Lord
says, no, rejoice and be exceedingly glad. It doesn't just say in
this world, if this comes, then be glad. We might think, well,
that's an unusual statement, but it's far more powerful than
that. It tells us to rejoice and to be exceedingly glad. And how does this come about?
Well, it comes about through the mercy and the love of God
toward us and to realize that we are there for his servants
and his disciples as we walk upon this earth. We are showing
forth his praise, showing forth what he has done. We're not hiding
our light. No, there it is to be seen. If the church of God hide the
light, then who will see the light? We live on this earth
for the honor and glory of our God. We live on this earth to
show forth this light which God has given us. My friends, what
a blessing it is. We should therefore surely rejoice
and be exceedingly glad to think that Almighty God has looked
upon us and shone into our hearts and given us that good hope through
grace that we have a wonderful prospect before us, because that's
what this verse tells us. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.
And the reason is this, for great is your reward in heaven. And again, we often need to note
the wording. It says, for great is your reward
in heaven. It's not a little reward. It's
great. And it is surely when you and
I are able to sit down and carefully ponder and consider it, The things
of time you see, the hardships, the difficulties, the trials,
the temptations, the opposition will fade and vanish away. In any event, they will all cease
when we come to die. Be no more, no more reviling
and no more persecuting and no more evil speaking against us.
It'll all be past, it will all be history. And that short time
that the Lord has seen fit to grant we walked in that path
will be forever ended. And then we shall be, by the
grace of God, in heaven forever. If you and I try and just analyze
that, we'll see, won't we? This reward is wonderful, wonderful. Your reward in heaven, to be
in that place of complete peace, perfect harmony, no one criticising,
no more, no one speaking against us. Unity and love and Jesus
in the midst. Well, my friends, it's something
to really anticipate and that puts a very right value on heavenly
realities. It puts a real prospect before
us so that we realise that here the Lord has blessed us with
so many things and if he's shown us his grace, if he's shown us
his mercy, if he's shown us his love, you see, in standing in
our place and dying that sin-atoning death to take away all our sins
It's a debt that you and I will never, ever be able to repay. And therefore, we should, in
some measure, expect to walk this path, expect opposition,
and come back to that great truth that the Lord Jesus walked the
same path when he was on this earth. And I'm sure, and I know,
therefore, that when the Lord reveals these things to us it
puts a different complexion on it and we are satisfied and pleased
to be in this path and we're able then to understand what
the Lord said rejoice and be exceeding glad because we realize
the Lord's hand is upon us for good he hasn't passed us by No,
he hasn't forgotten us. But we are counted worthy to
suffer for his sake, not because of anything that you and I have
done, but because we are redeemed with his precious blood and our
lives set forth that which God has done. And that's why we are
not to hide. We're not to turn away from the
things of God. We're not to be ashamed. of our
blessed Saviour. You see, with your back and my
back to the wall, sometimes we're tempted, sometimes we do. In
word, perhaps in actions, deny that we are a Christian. Deny
that we are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps we
have to look back in our lives to times when that was so. The
people would never have known we were a Christian. We appear
to be exactly the same as the people we were living with. Remember on Friday we spoke about
our dear brother Frank and how he was so sad and so sorry and
bemoaned all those 30 years of his life. First part of his life
when he knew nothing of the things of God and didn't follow the
things of God. He may have followed them perhaps
in just an outward form. Perhaps he came to chapel and
listened so cool, but in actual fact his ears were tuned to something
very different. And he regretted that all his
life. Perhaps we regret times that
we may have wasted. Wasted. Times when perhaps you
could have read the Bible, but you haven't. He wasted it. He read something else. He played
with something else, of no real benefit, of no real value. And what a great mercy it is
when, and it is only when, the Holy Spirit causes us to realise
the vast difference between time and eternity and sets our hearts
and our affections upon things above and not on things on the
earth. A change has occurred. A change has happened. The battle
has begun. The battle against the evil one,
the devil. who never wants you and me to
think about the things of God, never wants us to speak about
the things of God, never wants us to show the glorious light
of the Gospel or to have that savoury conversation. No, the
devil doesn't want that at all. What a mercy, therefore, if God
gives us grace to resist the devil in these times of temptation,
that he may flee from us. See, all of us have to answer
before the great God, and to realize, yes, the Lord has placed
you and me on this earth, not to just wander through, just
pleasing ourself, and then to fall into hell. What a blessing
it is if God has placed us on this earth to show forth his
praise. and to testify of his great love
and mercy and to testify that we do believe there is a heaven
and we do believe there is a hell and to be able to confess that
our hope is in what Christ has said and done. Now such a situation
What a blessing if we're able then to rejoice and be exceedingly
glad because of that situation. I'm sure you can understand that
such blessings are not natural. You and I would not do that naturally.
It's a wonderful evidence of God's grace toward us if we are
able to rejoice, to realize We are walking in the path that
the Lord has ordained for us. And therefore to realise that
His smile is upon us and He hasn't left us, He's with us, He's guiding
us, perhaps He's taken us by the hand and leading us on safely. And in that path, what do we
learn? We learn of Him. We learn of
Him. What a mercy it is today if we
can understand the blessing and the favor of God's leading and
God's blessing to us. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad
for great is your reward in heaven. This is really the balance, isn't
it? This really puts things into
a true and right perspective. You see, it's not as though we
have to just endure all these hardships with no prospect of
any favour. The Lord tells us we're blessed. We're blessed. If we endure such
situations, endure hardness, as the Apostle wrote to Timothy,
endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The spiritual
life is a warfare. I hope you realise that. It's
a continual battle through this life. And that's why it's described
as that. And therefore we are to be a
good soldier of Jesus Christ, not a bad soldier. We're not
to turn our back. No, we are to face the enemy.
And indeed, what a blessing it is if we show forth the glory
of the Saviour. Yes, to be able to say Christ
has died here, rather, is risen again. And my hope is in what
Christ has done. You see, it's so easy to turn
our back upon the things of God. It's so easy to be ashamed of
Jesus, that dear friend on whom my hopes of heaven depend. Well, there's no other way to
heaven, no other way to glory apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. And so tonight, is our hope in
what Christ has done. And are we able to be able to
confirm, not for any self-glory, on Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All the things in this vain world
are sinking sand. But you see, Christ is that rock. So when the storms come, and
when the difficulties come, and when the revilings come, and
when the persecution and the evil speakings come, if we're
on that rock, Christ Jesus, we shall not be moved. Because whatever
we're attacked with, we shall have that firm foundation on
Christ, the solid rock I stand. What a mercy it is then if you
and I have the evidence that we're on that rock. And we shall
have the evidence that we're on that rock if the Lord has
brought us to that condition to show us our true condition
before a holy God. A lost and ruined sinner. And
we've had to fly to the Saviour. We've had to plead his mercy,
plead the value of his precious blood, commit all our way unto
him, had no hope in ourselves, no hope in what we can do, but
realise that in the blessed Saviour there is all the hope. for time
and for eternity. Well, what a mercy if we're able
then to look forward and past the things of this world and
may that encourage us then to rejoice and we have then the
evidence in our hearts that we are one of those whom God has
loved with everlasting love and we are counted worthy to suffer
for his sake. Surely that's a cause to rejoice. And as the Lord graciously says,
and be exceeding glad. It's a great statement, isn't
it? Exceeding glad. It's not just to be glad. We're glad about many things
perhaps sometimes. You may be glad when you pass
exams. You may be glad when you've had a good meal. There's many
things you can be glad about. But here is something. which
the Lord speaks about being exceeding glad. And that's because there
is a reward in heaven. And you see the difference is,
this is an eternal reward. It will never be revoked. It'll
never be taken away. And we will enjoy it forever
and ever. And that reward, of course, is
the gift of eternal life. What a reward that is. We don't
work to you. We don't work for a gift, do
we? But the Lord gives this great favour of eternal life. What a reward. Well, how unworthy
we are to receive any reward. And what does this do? I believe
it sets forth the wonderful value of the Saviour, the preciousness
of his life and death. You can surely come to that view
of the hymn writer when he spoke those two words, invaluable blood. It's through the shedding of
blood, through the shedding of Christ blood, that you and I
have hope of eternal life, that you and I look forward to that
reward in heaven. Great is your reward in heaven,
my friends. Let us not underestimate the
wonder of it. Reward in heaven, eternally. Oh, it puts things, I hope, in
a right perspective. It shows how trivial the things
of this life are, and how great are the things of glory, and
the things in heaven. To think that there'll be no
cessation, no end, heaven will not disappear, the Lord will
not change his mind. We read in Malachi, I am the
Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Yes, the Lord changes not. What
he has said, he'll keep his promise. What he said to you and me, he
will fulfill. So may we tonight be able to
rejoice in what God has said. You know, he said many great
and glorious words, Some of those words are contained in the 14th
of John. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself, that where I am there, ye may be also. I will remember our dear friend
Dinah Gibb, who worshipped here, was a member with us here for
quite a few years and then went into Bethesda home and I used
to visit her quite often there and she rejoiced in the truth
of that word that the Lord would receive her. She believed it. She had the evidence that she
was born again of the Spirit of God and she was looking forward
to that great day which she knew would come. And we know did come
when the blessed Saviour would receive her unto himself. Now that's true of all the true
Church of God. It's true of you and me. If you
have the wonderful evidence of the life of God in our soul. And it's exceedingly humbling
to think that the great God waits to receive us, unworthy you,
unworthy me, into glory. That's why we can surely confirm
this statement, for great is your reward in heaven. It's a
truth which is beyond really our natural understanding, to
think that we have such a kind and gracious Saviour, who suffered
for us on Calvary's cross, who endured all the opposition, all
the reviling, all the persecution, all the evil speaking, endured
it all so that you and I might receive this reward in heaven. What a Saviour, what a mercy,
what a blessing. And so tonight, may we truly
rejoice in it. And the Lord goes on to just
encourage us, to tell us, for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. We have plenty of examples in
the Word of God of the saints of God who were persecuted but
who ended up safe at last and are now in eternal happiness,
in glory with their Saviour. For so, says the Lord, persecuted
they the prophets which were before you. And it would seem
in the way this is worded, it refers to all the prophets. None
were exempted, none were excused. We should therefore come back
to this and say, well, don't expect your life or my life to
be any different. There's not some back staircase
somewhere we can creep up without enduring these difficulties. No, we are the Lord's witnesses,
we are on this earth for that very reason. And so to enjoy
this statement, blessed, says the Lord, blessed are ye. When? And that means that if we don't,
then there's no evidence that we're blessed. But we're blessed
when men shall revile us. It says that shall. It's not
something which may come, shall come, shall revile you and persecute
you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for
my sake. Well, then it's not saying, well,
I wish I didn't have to walk this path. There's a wonderful
reward. It's a wonderful blessing. And
that's why the Lord's left such a statement for our encouragement
tonight because with that pathway we're told then the evidence
is that we are a true believer because if we weren't we wouldn't
be persecuted we wouldn't have opposition the devil will leave
you alone he won't worry about you because you're on his ground
and you're going home to him he doesn't want you to go to
glory and that's why there is this path That's why this is
opposition. But you see, the Word of God
tells us, they that endure unto the end shall be saved. No doubt about it. What a blessing
that is. Shall be saved. And therefore
tonight, I hope by the grace of God, we can rejoice and we
can be exceeding glad. For great is your reward in heaven. And then to have that confirmation,
for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Amen.