Mar 7, 2023
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." - Matthew 5:10-12
As we conclude this series on the Beatitudes, we end with a tough one. If you're thinking, "How are the persecuted blessed?" Or if you think it's an invitation to find a way to be persecuted, listen in to explore the depth and breadth of this scripture.
Christ-centered leaders will walk away with a reminder that your leadership does not depend upon persecution or praise. Your leadership depends upon your trust in Jesus.
You'll also explore what the tension between the church and the world might mean. We invite you to consider whenever tension ceases to exist between the church and the world, one of two things has happened. Either the world has been completely converted to Jesus, or the church has watered down and compromised its purpose. What happens then? In compromising the church loses its influence and is ignored.
At the end of the day, here's where persecution comes in: at the end of the day, we are called to live God's message, whatever the cost.
Listen to this episode and previous episodes in this series at https://transformingmission.org/podcast