Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: Matthew 5.10

serTHis article is taken from John Stott's commentary on the sermon on the mount-'The Christian counter culture' Stott was for around one of the foremost evangelical leaders in the United Kingdom. I met him a few times and found him to be one of the most humble men I've ever met.He is the author of more than 50 books, including the Lausanne Covenant,was brought up with an upper middle class background( his father was a Harley Street doctor who was knighted by the Queen)and was a great intellectual yet it can be truly said of him that he was prepared to and did associate with the lowly.AK Few men of this century have understood better the inevitability of suffering than Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He seems never to have wavered in his Christian antagonism to the Nazi regime, although it meant for him imprisonment, the threat of torture, danger to his own family and finally death. He was executed by the direct order of Heinrich Himmler in April 1945 in the Flossenburg concentration camp, only a few days before it was liberated. It was the fulfilment of what he had always believed and taught: ‘Suffering, then, is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his master.

Following Christ means *passio passiva*, suffering because we have to suffer. That is why Luther reckoned suffering among the marks of the true church, and one of the memoranda drawn up in preparation for the Augsburg Confession similarly defines the Church as the community of those “who are persecuted and martyred for the gospel’s sake”...Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and a token of his grace.’

The beatitudes paint a comprehensive portrait of a Christian disciple. We see him first alone on his knees before God, acknowledging his spiritual poverty and mourning over it. This makes him meek and gentle in all his relationships, since honesty compels him to allow others to think of him what before God he confesses himself to be. Yet he is far from acquiescing in his sinfulness, for he hungers and thirsts after righteousness, longing to grow in grace and in goodness.

We see him next with others, out in the human community. His relationship with God does not cause him to withdraw from society, nor is he insulated from the worlds pain. On the contrary, he is in the thick of it, showing mercy to those battered by adversity and sin. He is transparently sincere in all his dealings and seeks to play a constructive role as a peacemaker. Yet he is not thanked for his efforts, but rather opposed, slandered, insulted and persecuted on account of the righteousness for which he stands and the Christ with whom he is identified. Such is the man or woman who is ‘blessed’, that is, who has the approval of God and finds self-fulfilment as a human being.

Yet in all this the values and standards of Jesus are in direct conflict with the commonly accepted values and standards of the world. The world judges the rich to be blessed, not the poor, whether in the material or in the spiritual sphere; the happy-go- lucky and carefree, not those who take evil so seriously that they mourn over it; the strong and brash, not the meek and gentle; the full not the hungry; those who mind their own business, not those who meddle in other men’s matters and occupy their time in do-goodery like ‘showing mercy’ and ‘making peace’; those who attain their ends even if necessary by devious means, not the pure in heart who refuse to compromise their integrity; those who are secure and popular, and live at ease, not those who have to suffer persecution.

A Commentary by John Stott.

Paul the Evangelist : The apostle who being constrained by love became all things to all men that he might win some for Christ.

If Peter saw more people come to faith in Christ (8000 after two sermons) than any other evangelist, Paul had probably the most dynamic and certainly the most far reaching,apart from Christ. He was truly the evangelist to the Gentiles, but not only so. He also preached to the Jews in the Synagogues until he was kicked out. The one time arch-enemy of the Christian Church was to become the fearless apostle.

After his dramatic conversion when he met the risen Christ on the Damascus road, God told Ananias a disciple in the city that Paul was ‘a chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles, and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he will suffer for my name sake’ Acts 9.15.This proved to be true -and suffer Paul did!

Paul was the product of three backgrounds, Jewish, Greek and Roman, which proved to be of great importance in his proclamation of the gospel. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews ( Phil 3.5), not merely a Greek speaking Jew but one who could speak Hebrew as well as being a Pharisee- who were the purest of the pure. He was also brought up in Tarsus and educated in a Greek environment,hence when the situation required it, he could quote Greek poets and philosophers when preaching to win a hearing with the Greeks he was seeking to reach for Christ ( Athens). Paul was also a Roman citizen and was (several times)to use this to his advantage, such as getting a fair trial( though this didn’t always happen).

We also have a unique background, the value of which we should not underestimate( or overestimate) that may provide a key for us to go through doors to reach people that other Christians may not be able to go through ( can you think of any examples?).

Paul’s own conversion also had a great impact upon the rest of his life and ministry. On the Damascus when he was literally confronted by Christ he was told he had been persecuting Christ himself. This was because he had been involved in the deaths and persecution of many Christians including Stephen. What astounds me is that Stephen actually prayed,while he was being stoned, in imitation of Jesus, that God would not hold their sin against them. If this did not shake up Paul at the time,after his conversion when he had time to reflect upon it, it must surely have had an impact on his life and teaching.

To study the lessons that we could learn from Paul with regard to evangelism would take many weeks so I will only look at a few of them very briefly.What for instance made him such a great troubadour of Christ? I believe this was obviously to do with his close relationship with God.In his letters he often writes of this intimacy when he speaks of the believer not only being 'in Christ' but of Christ also being in the believer. In Galations he also made the amazing confession 'I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me'.Paul didn't however make out that he alone could have this close relationship, rather he invited all believers to imitate him as he had imitated Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).

Another important aspect to Paul's life and ministry was that he was empowered by the Holy Spirit and in turn encouraged those who believed to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5.18).Also Like Christ he knew 'his calling' in life, in his case, as an apostle to the Gentiles, as well as that of a teacher and prophet.If we are lacking in spiritual power we are encouraged in scripture to ask the Father to fill us with the good gift of His Spirit and also ask Him what his will for our life is.

Most people when they think of Paul, rarely think of him as a great lover of humankind. I have heard him being called a misogynist or a dictator or single minded, but never as compassionate or winsome or loving. But those who don’t believe he had compassion like his Master, in my view don’t know him or fully understand him.

For the rest of this study see the first comment of this post.

John Stott Last address PartC

Firstly, Christlikeness and the mystery of suffering. Suffering is a huge subject in itself and there are many ways in which Christians try to understand it. One way stands out: that suffering is part of God’s process of making us like Christ. Whether we suffer from a disappointment, a frustration or some other painful tragedy, we need to try to see this in the light of Romans 8:28-29. According to Romans 8:28, God is always working for the good of his people, and according to Romans 8:29, this good purpose is to make us like Christ.
Secondly, Christlikeness and the challenge of evangelism. Why is it, you must have asked, as I have, that in many situations our evangelistic efforts are often fraught with failure? Several reasons may be given and I do not want to over-simplify but one main reason is that we don’t look like the Christ we are proclaiming. John Poulton, who has written about this in a perceptive little book entitled A today sort of evangelism, wrote this:
‘The most effective preaching comes from those who embody the things they are saying. They are their message. Christians need to look like what they are talking about. It is people who communicate primarily, not words or ideas. Authenticity gets across. deep down in side people, what communicates now is basically personal authenticity.’
That is Christlikeness. Let me give you another example. There was a Hindu professor in India who once identified one of his students as a Christian and said to him: ‘If you Christians lived like Jesus Christ, India would be at your feet tomorrow.’ I think India would be at their feet today if we Christians lived like Christ. From the Islamic world, the Reverend Iskandar Jadeed, a former Arab Muslim, has said ‘If all Christians were Christians – that is, Christlike – there would be no more Islam today.’
That brings me to my third point – Christlikeness and the indwelling of the Spirit. I have spoken much tonight about Christlikeness but is it attainable? In our own strength it is clearly not attainable but God has given us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to change us from within. William Temple, Archbishop in the 1940s, used to illustrate this point from Shakespeare:
‘It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it – I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it – I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like this. And if the Spirit could come into me, then I could live a life like His.’
So I conclude, as a brief summary of what we have tried to say to one another: God’s purpose is to make us like Christ. God’s way to make us like Christ is to fill us with his Spirit. In other words, it is a Trinitarian conclusion, concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

SEVEN PEOPLE LYING AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BY GEORGE VERWER

I have been preaching a lot recently on the story of the Good Samaritan. I believe it's a fitting message because there are so many people lying at the side of the road today; there are so many who are suffering and need Jesus - both for salvation and for those practical, life-sustaining needs we all have. At the same time, it has been my great joy to see, within OM, a huge shift in recent years towards the marrying of Gospel proclamation with social action.I have put together a list of "seven people lying at the side of the road." These Seven People (which I also list on the back of my business card) are:
1. Children at risk
AIDS orphans; children on the street; children in slums and garbage dumps; child victims of sex trafficking and domestic abuse; child soldiers: there are so many children in extreme need. If we don't help them, who will?
2. Abused women
I urge you to read "True Grit" by Debbie Meroff, the untold story of the suffering women face around the world and how powerfully God is using women to advance His Kingdom today. Please email me for your free copy today (georgeverwer.om.org). I would also be willing to send you extra copies to give to friends.
3. The extreme poor
In the West we come across pan-handlers and others who need our help, and we need to continue to help these people with love and wisdom. But I am talking here of whole families who are living on less than a a dollar a day, people who are victims of rampant government corruption and famine. I am speaking of the 200 million Dalits of India who for 3,000 years have suffered severe discrimination and abject poverty; of the millions living in slums, the Tsunami victims of Southeast Asia, the earthquake victims of Pakistan, those starving and suffering under the oppressive regime of North Korea. There are so many in extreme poverty who need our help.
4. The HIV/AIDS patient

40 million have been infected and 20 million have died. Millions of children have been orphaned and whole societies are burgeoning under the weight of so many dying so young. Rather than standing by and judging, let us respond in love and action through in-person help, finance, support of AIDS ministries, prayer and being aware of AIDS in our own communities, churches and families. (Many have HIV and don't know it.)
Let us also take advantage of this opportunity to share the gospel. We have found that, because death is so imminent, AIDS patience are very open to the Gospel.
I want to strongly recommend four books: "AIDS and You" by Patrick Dixon, "AIDS is Real and it's in our Church" by Jean Garland and Dr. Mike Blyth; "The Skeptics Guide to AIDS" by Dale Hanson Bourke; and "I'm not at Risk, Am I?" by Joy and Ray Thomas. Contact me if we can send you any of these titles.
5. People with impure water
Water is becoming increasingly scarce. 20% of the world has no access to clean water. Many must walk miles to get clean water, and so often the ones who do it are children whose bodies are not designed for such back-breaking work. Big cities are running out of water and are shipping it in at great cost, while in other parts of the world the disfunctional water systems are breeding grounds for disease. May each of us be part of the effort to see more people getting clean water, as we seek to preserve what precious water we have stewardship over ourselves.
6. The unborn
Some estimates put the number of children who have been aborted at 500 million. The numbers are staggering, and in many ways I would rather ignore them. But I know that I cannot. I confess, when my close friend Dr. Francis Schaeffer decided to put so much effort into the pro-life movement towards the end of his life, I thought he had gone a little extreme. I no longer feel this way, and repent of my own inaction. In some countries there are more abortions than births, and the laws in some nations allow abortion until the day before birth. How can this be?
With so much abortion taking place, let us not consider it a lost cause and give up. No, many battles have been won, and every battle is a victory; every saved life a real person. I believe that there are thousands alive today who otherwise would not have been without pro-life action. Are not these saved lives worth the effort? Yes, they are!
So let us be people of vision, action and especially grace - grace for the mothers, for those in the pro-choice camp, and for fellow Christians who disagree. Recommended reading: Why Pro Life? by Randy Alcorn.
7. The environment
It is a shame that so many evangelical Christians not only have little concern for the environment, but are sometimes known as anti-environmental. How can this be when our Creator God has asked us to care for his creation? Not only is our pollution of the earth totally unacceptable, but this is an issue that our young people care about; and if we don't connect with them on valid issues such as preservation of the environment, how can we expect them to listen to us at all?
Will you be a Good Samaritan?
George Verwer, December 2006

Book Review :SAVAGE SHEPHERDS by Adam Harbinson

I've several books on the go at the moment. One I've just finished ( Its been around the house for over a decade but I never got round to reading it) is the old classic 'I dared to call him Father' by Bilquis Sheikh, a super story of how a high -born Muslim woman from Pakistan came to know God as her Father. This book perfectly illustrates 'the mission of God' at work, drawing Bilquis to Himself through visions, dreams and supernatural experiences with very little 'human' evangelism involved as such. I'll review it in full later.

Another book I've just finished is 'Savage Shepherds' which tells of the shocking and heart rending story of how Adam Harbinson ( the author) was treated after he left a Christian fellowship in Bangor.
The blurb at the back of the book states:

Adam Harbinson was a respected member of his local church, which was part of the Shepherding Movement in the late 1980's and early 1990's. However when he suspected a deep corruption at the heart of the movement and felt it was time to move on, he discovered powerful forces at work that sought to destroy his family , his health and his livelihood.

This book is really about spiritual abuse which CAN happen in any church or fellowship of any denomination. In a chapter entitled Abuse -Proof your relationship he gives several pointers as to what might constitute an abusive church. These include among others:

There will an attempt to dictate what its members should read, even eat and with whom they should spend their 'off time'.

Members will be discouraged from attending churches from other denominations.

Their will often be the claim, implicit or explicit, that their church or movement has a monopoly of the truth.

The church will be built around a single charismatic character, a self appointed leader with complete authority, usually a self centred and self seeking person.

There is usually a system in place that controls or influences how the members spend their money. Tithing will be taught and enforced, but more, members will be required to tithe exclusively to the group. Anything given elsewhere doesn't count.


There are also commendations by such luminaries such as J John, Bono, Phil Baker and the irrepressible Dr Tony Campolo.I feel this is an important book for those who may be caught up in an abusive or authoritarian church or fellowship.

One of the Marks of Authentic Mission' is that it will set people free from oppressive bonds to serve God, the world and each another: not make children of God slaves. Legalism and and a works mentality has opposed the free grace of God since the begining of creation and been exemplified by the Pharisees and Jesus and refuted most vehemently by Paul in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 5:1 'It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery'.(NIV)
'Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.' ( The Message)


It is interesting to note that in 'I dared to call Him Father' it shows how the Lord set Bilquis free from a stern and ever demanding God and led her into the freedom of the children of God while Adam's book tells how a group that started in grace ended up bringing people into such bondage and legalism. As with the parable of the Wheat and the Tares one must surely conclude: 'An enemy has done this'(Matt 13.28).

THE KEITH GREEN STORY

I just finished watching the Keith Green story on 'you tube.' It was very moving.I've since puchased his CD 'Ultmate Collection' featuring his greatest ministry songs and a DVD of his life. If you have £15 to spare it is well worth buying. Keith had both a passion for God's glory and for those without God and hope in the world. He did not seek glory for himself and was regarded by many as an authentic servant of God. He is an example for all of us to follow, especially those in the Christian music business. He gave thousands of his tapes and records to people for free or 'Whatever they could afford'. His music and ministry are sadly missed. Below are the lyrics of the song 'asleep in the dark' which you can hear 'live' on my previous blog entry.

Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Dont you care, dont you care
Are you gonna let them drown

How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the jobs done

Oh bless me lord, bless me lord
You know its all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But he cries, he weeps, he bleeds
And he cares for you needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in
Oh cant you see its such a sin
cause he brings people to you door
And you turn them away
As you smile and say God bless you,
be at peace
And all heaven just weeps
cause Jesus came to you door
You've left him out on the streets

Open up open up And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay
God's calling and you're the one
But like jonah you run
He's told you to speak
But you keep holding it in
Or can't you see its such a sin

The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
cause its asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you're been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed
Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on get out of your bed
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the jobs done
You close your eyes
And pretend the jobs done
Don't close your eyes
Don't pretend the jobs done Come away,
come away, come away with me my love
Come away, come away, come away with me my love

Bob Dylan - What Can I Do For You?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ATqE-Gk_pY

This is perhaps one of the most inspiring gospel songs-ever.

Those involved in authentic mission will sooner or later experience at least a little of the pain and suffering of Calvary

George Verwer the founder of Operation Mobilization writes:
'We seem to have a strange idea of Christian service. We will buy books, travel miles to hear a speaker on blessings, pay large sums to hear a group singing the latest Christian songs- but we forget we are soldiers.’

Suffering has always been part and parcel of Christian mission. The founder of Christianity died on a cross, virtually all the apostles were put to death, and the Christians in the early church until the conversion of the Emperor Constantine were often thrown to the lions or burned at the stake for the amusement of the onlookers.

Throughout Church history it has been the same when the Church tries to reach out in an enemy environment. Jesus had warned his followers that it would be so:
‘They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict’.
I think of the hymn :
'Must I be carried to the skies on a flowery bed of ease
when others sought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas'?

The mission of Christ was certainly no ‘flowery bed of ease’. It was foretold by Isaiah that Christ would be a suffering servant ‘a man of sorrows and one acquainted with grief’ He was denied and betrayed by his friends before being beaten , tortured and then finally suffering and dying on the cross . Before his death Jesus told his disciples:


“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour. (John 12 .23.)

Today in many parts of the world Christians are going through terrible persecution. China, India, Sudan and Vietnam to name a few. The Marechale ( see picture below) the eldest daughter of General Booth of the Salvation Army wrote from her prison cell in the 1880’s:

'Jesus was crucified .. Ever since that day, men have tried to find an easier way, but the easier ways fail. If you are to win thousands who are without Christ, you must be ready to be crucified: your plans , your ideas , your likes and your inclinations. Things have changed , you say you have liberty now. Is there? Go and live Christ’s life, speak as he spoke, teach what he taught, denounce sin whenever you find it, and see if the enemy will not turn on you with all the fury of hell… Christ wasn’t crucified in a drawing room. He was no easy chair business… Do you shrink from being bated, misrepresented and spoken evil of ? it is time you were crucified..'
At one stage in my work among among teenagers things were starting to get messy. Though we found it a testing time it was still small beer compared to those suffering in other countries. I had my tyres slashed and some of the other leaders wanted to leave. It was then that certain scriptures (like the ones below) came alive to us. I certainly hadn't needed them for quite a while.

‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance’ (James 1.2.)

'But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.'2 Cor4.7

These became food and drink for the leaders. It was then I realised that God was perhaps doing more in us than he was doing with the youth. The enemy hates what we do and will oppose it.
If things go well all the time, if we never face any opposition perhaps we are not doing the Kingdom of darkness any damage. Will we give up when things get hard? Will we take it as a sign that God isn’t in it. Paul warns the younger Timothy who was prone to timidity in 2 Timothy 4:2‘Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction’.2.Tim. 4.2

We shouldn’t be surprised when Satan tries to prevent us reaching out to the lost. He will try to cripple us with fear. He will try and make us take the easier option so we don’t have face the flack or the jibs or the gossip.
Let us take Paul encouragement to Timothy as our own.
2 Timothy 2:3‘Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.’