(Sunday) The King's Speech: Blessed are the Persecuted

In this episode of The King’s Speech series, Pastor Tony Vismore walks through the final beatitude—the one with the plot twist no one is asking for:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”

If you’ve ever wondered why living for Jesus can make life harder—socially, relationally, or even at work or school—this message is for you.  This episode tackles:

• Why real discipleship will eventually collide with culture
• The difference between true persecution and just dealing with the fallout of being arrogant or rude
• What it actually means to be persecuted “for righteousness’ sake” and “because of Jesus”
• How to respond when people misunderstand, mock, or reject you for your faith
• Why Jesus tells us to rejoice when that happens—and how that’s even possible

You’ll hear stories about campus life, corporate pressure, and even a pastor getting blasted online—and how God can use all of it to anchor your identity in Him.

If you’ve been trying to figure out whether following Jesus is really worth the loss, the pushback, or the “you’re too Jesus-crazy” comments, this episode will help you see persecution not as a failure, but as confirmation: you’re starting to look like Him.

Perfect to listen to on your commute, at the gym, or between classes.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

On this Sermon of the Mount, Jesus was inaugurating a new kingdom in which he would be king, and in this kingdom, he is setting forth the ethos, the culture of what it means to live with him and how we will live one with another. Anyone here enjoy going to the theater and seeing a good movie? And um, and since COVID, it doesn't seem like we go nearly as much. But even though we love movies, we don't like the same movies. I kind of like the simple movies, not with a lot of plot, not of things you gotta think and sort out. You know, think Caddyshack, Dumb and Dumber. You know what I'm talking about? You're just sort of there, don't have to think. Trisha, on the other hand, she loves these movies that have these deep plots and character development and all these twists and turns, and you have to think through the whole thing. You know what I'm talking about? And she's just whispering to me during the movie, that's the bad guy. And it's like, I don't even know where we are in the movie, to be quite honest with you right now. But what we both like, regardless of the movie, is when there's an unexpected ending. You know what I'm talking about? You kind of expecting it to land over here and then it lands over there. It's just a great ending. She was telling me, I was asking her, I said, What's your best movie that shifted heart? She said, The Beautiful Mind. She says, 25 years since that movie, when I watch it, it still gets me because it's an ending I was not expecting. That's what the final Beatitude looks like this morning. So if you have your Bible, go with me to Matthew chapter number five. And we come to the final blessing of the Beatitudes. And it's probably not one we're quite ready for. Because at this point, even though we've been challenged in many ways, in Jesus' speech, when he says, Blessed are the peacemakers, it's like, ugh, that can be tough, but okay, I'll do that. And blessed are the poor in spirit, those who recognize their own spiritual depravity, don't love to do that, but yeah, I'll come honest. Blessed are those who mourn, who recognize that there is something dreadfully wrong in the earth, and they engage God and they ask God to comfort them. By the time we get to the last one, we're kind of thinking, okay, the Lord's gonna land it on a good one, right? The Lord's gonna land it on. Blessed are those who follow me, and I will be with them, and my peace will go before them, and there will be prosperity, and life will get easier as you follow me. Because that's how we want this message to end. But Jesus throws in a twist that we're not expecting, and chances are we're probably not even wanting. We pick it up, if you will, verse number 10 in the final, the Beatitudes. Jesus says, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sakes. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven, verse 11, and then you'll notice on this Beatitude, it's not just one verse or one sentence. He expounds on it. Because apparently this is going to be a part of the life of those who are walking in his kingdom and embracing his culture. Verse 11, he goes on to say, Blessed are you when others revile you and others persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. And verse 12, rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Father, give us grace to hear this message today, and grace to walk out these truths. In Jesus' great name I pray. And together we said, Amen. As we land the series, I hope it has been helpful to you. I hope it's challenged you. Uh, I've heard probably more comments about this series and received more emails or text messages from people online, people on the congregation. And one of my favorite ones of the statements was, Pastor, this series hurt so good. Because it really challenged me. It challenged me that if I want mercy, I must give mercy. That I am called not to walk away from issues, but actually to walk towards chaos and difficulty to be a peacemaker, that I am to be a part of a culture that is counterculture to this. And now, as we get to this, we discover that Jesus is not just telling us and describing to us what the blessed life is, he's now speaking to us about what the blessed life in following Him will actually cost us. Why? Why would He say this? Why would there be persecution? Because living in the kingdom of God will collide with those living in the kingdom of this world. Embracing the kingdom culture will be contrary to those who embrace the kingdoms and the cultures of this life and this world. Simply put, if you and I choose by the grace of God to walk in the way of Jesus, if we choose to live by his ethic, if you and I embrace the calling to the kingdom and this culture, you and I, we will stand out. And when we stand out, you and I will be opposed for that which we stand. So let's take a look at this final one and see what the Lord would say to us and how we can anchor ourselves in this beatitude. First of all, let's talk about the reality of persecution. Jesus is saying, persecution in your life will not be accidental, it is to be expected. Notice Jesus didn't say, if you are persecuted. He says, when you are persecuted. As though we should have an open mind and a reality that if I live for him and if I embrace him and what he is calling me to live for, then there is going to be pushback in the culture in which I live. There are going to be people who will not like it, who will resent it, who will resent him, and I'm going to take some shots by following him. See, following Christ puts us in contrast to the culture that you and I live in Monday through Monday. We have a different ethic, a different moral, a different value system. And when we begin to live in that, we begin to find that there is a world that will push back against that. It wasn't just Jesus saying this when Paul was training young Timothy. He said these words in 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 12. He says, All that desire to live a godly life. Did you hear that? All that desire, not all that are accomplished in a godly life, not all who have achieved this imaging of a godly life. He says, All that desire, I believe you're here today because you desire to live a godly life. You want to live a life that honors the Lord, that reflects the love of God, that that shows the character of Christ. And he says, if you desire that, Timothy, you will be persecuted. That you will take some shots. And there will be people who will stand and will oppose you. So now when we talk about persecution, I think it's important to make sure that we're not confusing persecution and consequences. Because sometimes we deal with consequences that come out of our own less than Christ-likeness, if I might say. Sometimes we're not facing persecution because we're living righteously. It's because we're living self-righteously. And that when we're persecuted, it's because of what Christ is doing in us, with us, and through us. And sometimes when we're facing pushback, it could be because we're just being difficult in life. It could be that we're just wanting to be argumentative in our life, that we want to project some sense of self-righteousness that somehow my life is so much superior than your life, and I have all the right answers, and you have all the wrong answers. And look how wonderful I am. Now we would never say anything of such, but have you ever been around someone who kind of projected that? Don't look at them right now, please. Don't do that. But you just sort of got around them and went, oh man, they squeak when they walk. I mean, they like need WD 40 applied to their spiritual life. It's just squeaky and it's just awkward, and it's just always in your face, and it's always sort of shining the light, not on Christ, but shining the light on what I'm doing wrong, and it's just like, and so people push hard against that. That's not persecution, that's just being a Christian bully most of the time. Jesus says, Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. This is about Christ's likeness in us that is contrarian to the world in which we live. It's not about obnoxiousness and engaging in the anger of a culture that is always ready to fight. So maybe the question I need to ask myself and we should ask ourselves is Am I being opposed because I'm acting like Jesus or because I'm just being difficult? I'm just being obstinate. You just don't see that in Jesus, though, do you? He's just living for the glory of the Father in love, in mercy, embracing people from all stages of life, all backgrounds, all struggles, and yet there is this beauty about his message that is attractional to them. Have you ever really stopped and thought about the people that showed up at Jesus' events? The ones who were angry were not the lost. The ones who were angry were the religious leaders who had an outward expression of a faith, but an inward death of task and ritual. But those who did show up, those who were far from God, the tax collector, the sinners, the prostitutes, those whose lives were messy, why would they have been attracted to Christ? Because in attracting them, he shared with them the hope that is found in the Father. And we need to understand that if we are truly attractional like Jesus is, then people who are far from God will want to come near to us. And sometimes the biggest pushback doesn't come from those who are far from God, it can come from those who seem like they should be on our team. And so Jesus says, You understand these things happen. And he says, and it will get personal. Notice if you will, verse number 11, keep your Bibles open. Notice verse number 11. He said, There's going to be insults, there's going to be false accusations about you. And he says, your reputation will be attacked. In this, we see this move from a general persecution to a personal pain. And friends, if I can be honest with all of us to remind us, if we truly follow Jesus long enough, it is going to cost you socially, relationally, and even professionally at times. If there is never a pushback, if there is never an issue of tension with you and someone else that might be far from God or playing games, it might be that we are not walking close enough to Christ because Jesus did not say you might be persecuted or there's an outside chance if you go to a foreign nation who worships a different God, who doesn't even worship the God of the Scripture, you will be hurt. He says, No, if you follow me, period, you will experience this. And when he says follow, he doesn't mean just take up the title or a bumper sticker or the t-shirt. But if your life begins to align with his life, if your conduct begins to align with his conduct, if your morals and your values and the ethic of your life begins to align with the one who came for us, he says, there will be persecution. To which we all go, because this is not the way we want the movie to end. We want it to end with I was a sinner, I was lost, I came to Christ, He saved me, He washed me, and now He is lighting my path, and the road is easy, and the wind is at my back, and I'm prospering and all things, and all my relationships are happy and healthy, and I do not have real struggles because I am on Team Jesus, and Jesus is saying, that doesn't look like the team. But that's the team I want. I know it's the team I want. But it's not the team we were chosen for. The team we're chosen for says there's gonna be pushback. Well, why? Why is there gonna be pushback? Why would people push back from people that love Jesus and follow after Jesus? Verse number 10 and 11 say this. Jesus says, You'll be persecuted. Underline these in your text, if you will, because of righteousness, and verse 11, because of me. Because of righteousness. Now let's unpack this word righteousness for just a moment. We've talked about it a lot here, Grace Fellowship of the years. Righteousness works out in two different ways. Number one is our right standing with God, that we come into a right relationship with God based on what Jesus Christ has done for us: his life, death, burial, resurrection, paying the price of our salvation so that in trusting Him, we are made right with God. We believe that. Amen? Okay. Then there is righteousness that is the outworking of God's right character through our life, that we live rightly. That we live not just forgiven, but our life is being transformed into the likeness and into the image of Jesus Christ. That his character begins to be expressed through our life, that our steps are ordered by him, that our desires now begin to align with his desires. It means that there are gonna be a lot of things we say yes to and we embrace and we walk in. But it also means what? It means there's gonna be some things that we say, I can no longer do that. I can no longer participate in that. I can no longer conduct myself in that way. I can no longer embrace that ideal, I can no longer embrace that ideology, I can no longer walk in that path or that lifestyle because I am no longer my own. He has called me out of darkness, not just to set me in a corner, but that I would begin to walk in the newness of life and his righteousness begins to shine through my life. If you believe that this morning, would you give an amen? Do you believe that? That Christ calls us to this, that when we come to faith, we're not just in an altar somewhere in a quiet moment just whispering a prayer and marking it off. No, my life now belongs to him, and my life now begins to align with who he is. And Jesus says if you do that and you begin to live to a standard of holiness and righteousness, the world's gonna push back. Because you'll discover that the values of the kingdom will confront the values of the culture you and I live in. You will recognize that your integrity will expose the lack of integrity of those in their lives around you. You will recognize that your light, the light of Christ that is shining through you, becomes an irritant to those who are in darkness. Ultimately, Jesus says, It's because of me in your life that you will be persecuted. It's because you have chosen to live a different way. He says the offense is not you and it shouldn't be you. The offense is me. Because we represent a different kingdom. Friends, you represent a different kingdom, a death ethic, a different value system. And in that, you have decided I refuse to compromise. I am not gonna live that way anymore. I'm not going to go in those spaces anymore. I am not gonna conduct my way in that place any longer. Has anyone here ever experienced when you have made your stand for Jesus Christ and you began walking from him, you began to recognize that people began to treat you differently or push back or question you? Listen, when I came to faith in Christ, I was at the University of West Georgia, and I knew that the friends that were around me for the very most part, that those guys did not receive what God had done for me in my life, and they began to arrest. Why do you mean we're not going to the frat house anymore? Why do you mean we're not doing that? Why do you mean you're not being a part of this? Because my life has been changed by Jesus and I've served. Are you kidding me, Vismore? Have you lost your mind? Did you join a cult? Because in the South, isn't this the truth? We're all Christians, and the church is a part of our culture. And what you'll discover in the South is this: if you really get on fire for Jesus, if you really become desperate for Jesus, it's the very culture that says that it's a part of the Bible Belt culture that will begin to push back and act like you've gone too Jesus crazy. You've become one of those Jesus freaks. What have you done? Have you joined a cult? Why do you mean doing Bible studies during the week? Why do you go into a small group? Because my life, my life has been rescued by the one who came for me. And I'm gonna walk that out. It's gonna matter in my. I had to leave the University of Western. I left a lot of friends behind because I knew that at that stage in my Christian life I would not be able to live my life for Christ. And it was my Ur of Chaldeans, and I said, I will leave that I might follow him. And I felt that. Anybody in the corporate world ever felt the pressure? Everybody been on the business trips and they're gonna go to the bar, they're gonna go to the club, they're gonna, and you say, Yeah, I'm not doing that. And you felt the strain the next day, you felt the pressure now from above, like, oh, you think you're better than us? No, I don't think I'm better than us, but I'm following a different master. I have someone who is in charge of my HR, and it's Christ, and I'm living. I'm not trying to be obnoxious about it, but I have made my stand and I have chosen by his grace that I'm not gonna compromise this. See, what happens is when we begin to live like that, it threatens the status quo, especially of those who call themselves believers and they have not committed themselves fully. So, how are we to respond to this? We see what the reality is and the reason for it, but what's our response to persecution? Jesus says to do this, and this is shocking. This is shocking. Verse number 12 rejoice and be glad. What? Jesus says, when you're persecuted for my name's sake for righteousness, your response is not to get angry, not to bow up, not to walk around beating your spiritual chest. Oh, me, Christian, you not. No, no, that's not it. He says, your response is to rejoice, not just to endure it. Well, I guess I'm just gonna make it through another week for Jesus. I gotta carry it. He says, no, no, no. You are to rejoice because this is special, this matters. And this rejoicing is not natural, it really is supernatural because it's based on a joy that is not built on comfort of circumstances, but joy based on who I am now in Christ. He says, Why can we rejoice? Notice if you will keep reading verse 12 because your reward in heaven is great. And God sees what others mess with message represent. And heaven will settle the sword that earth is source. It says, Rejoice. Rejoice. What does that look like? Uh, and the church had just taken off. They were they were now breaking a thousand, and man energy was there, and and an issue rose in the community and And and he just stood up and addressed it, and he addressed it well, he addressed it in love, but it was an issue that was outside the bounds of the text. And he just he just called light to that in his church, and he says, Church, we're not going to embrace this, we're not going to be a part of this because the scripture says this is out of bounds. And he said, I never knew what it meant to get pushed back till that. He says, Not only were there people in the church that were immediately pushing back, he says, on Monday, I had an entire inbox of emails of people in my church. I didn't know most of them, they were just blasting me, saying, Is this what we've become? This is wrong. How are we taking such a hard line? And he said, and somehow he got on social media because now everything that you don't want on social media shows up on social media, and they've got these sermon clips, and I'm just railing. I'm just, and I'm just catching it on all sides. He says, I was overwhelmed. I was just so discouraged. And I had all these second thoughts that began to infiltrate my mind. Why did you say that? Why did you go there? Things were so good. Just keep it nice and in the center of the road. You know, don't get onto these, oh wow, you know, and just overwhelmed and discouraged and wondering, are we gonna, is this gonna wreck everything? Are we gonna lose most of our people? And he just felt, and he says, people were saying things about me that were not true right on social media, and I'm going, like, this isn't true. But I knew I couldn't respond on that platform because you just play into, and he says, and I was overwhelmed, and I just thought, what did I do? Why did I do this? He said, I went home from the office that Monday afternoon so discouraged, so beat up. He says, My wife and two kids are at the house, and I'm telling myself on the whole way, hey, listen, don't take this in the house. Don't care. Get yourself together, get yourself together. And he said, the more I said, get myself together, the more discouraged I got. And he said, I pulled into the driveway, got out of my car, and I walked into the front door, and there in the foyer was my wife and my two kids with party favors and hats and balloons. And he said, Oh great, I missed a birthday. And then he said, No, that's not it. And he looked at his wife and he said to her, What is this? And she said, Jesus said, When they speak all manner of evil against you, they fully accuse you. Rejoice. And I rejoice. Because somehow by living for Christ, my life now shines brightly in a dark place. Great is your reward in heaven. We would love it to say, Great is your reward on earth, but this is one that comes in heaven. This is one that we may have to wait a while, but while we wait, he says, it also identifies you with your spiritual heritage. Because Jesus says, They did this to the prophets as well. And when Jesus spoke of the prophets, he was speaking of Isaiah and Jeremiah and the mighty man of God Elijah. He says they persecuted them. And your life today is better because of their life and their stand. And he says, and I am aligning you with that lineage. That you're making a stand for me in a world that has rejected me. You're choosing to shine the love and the grace and the mercy and the righteousness of Christ in the world who has rejected that. And he says, and as you do that, you are in alignment with the prophets who changed the world in which they lived in. This is your story as well. It will not always be easy. People will not always stand and applaud. You may lose jobs, you may lose friends, you may lose opportunities, but I am in alignment with a holy assembly of people who have gone before me because they've tasted and seen that the Lord our God is good and he is faithful from generation to generation. Therefore, I will rejoice in the Lord my God. And if it causes me some pain, I will press on and endure and rejoice, because there is coming a day in heaven that will be the payday when I will hear him say, Well done, thy good and thy faithful servant of mine. Hallelujah be to God. See, because when I'm persecuted, it really confirms my identity in Christ. It's the world's identification that I belong to Christ. And resistance is often really just validation that I belong to him. What is this reward? Verse number 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Here on the very last one, Jesus circles back to the very first one. When he said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. But he didn't say that each time. He would say, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they'll be filled. Blessed are the merciful, you'll receive mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, you'll be called the children of God because you'll resemble God. But on this one, they're the bookends. The kingdom of heaven, God's kingdom, God's rule, God's reign, God's place, God's authority, God's grace, God's mercy, God's kindness. It's yours. Just as it became yours when you identified your own spiritual bankruptcy, that God, I bring nothing to this table with you other than my brokenness. And God says, that's right. And because you acknowledge that, the whole kingdom becomes yours. And then he ends. He ends. When you chose to acknowledge your own spiritual bankruptcy and you came to me in faith, then you began to mourn because you realized that the world in which you live in is deeply broken. And you asked me to begin to align your heart with mine, it was there I comforted you. And then out of that you began to hunger and thirst for righteousness. And there I filled you. And then when you didn't want to give mercy, my character rose up inside of you. And instead of offering judgment and condemnation for those who have done you wrong, you gave them mercy, and in giving mercy, you obtain yet all the more mercy. And now you're standing bright, you're shining bright. You're standing against the world and a culture that is being swept away into utter darkness. And you have chosen to surrender your life to me. And now you're persecuted? Rejoice. The kingdom of heaven is yours. It's yours. How do I ready myself for persecution? Just to finish the alliteration of this sermon. Four quick things, jot them down. Number one, expect it. Expect it. If you really live your life for Christ, if you really align your heart with the heart of God, you're gonna get blowback. So when it happens, don't be surprised. When in your place of business you say, hey, I'm I'm not willing to do that, I'm not willing to participate in that, I'm not doing that. When you say to friends, hey, listen, we're just not gonna participate like that anymore. I can't I can't go clubbing with you anymore. I I have a beat of a different drummer I'm walking to now. Hey, I I'm not gonna be able to continue to date you because this relationship is not aligned to what God wants for my life and what's best. Expect it. So don't be surprised, but be prepared. Number two is this deepen your roots in the faith. Deepen your roots in the faith. I live on our little farm up in Nicholson, and we have a lot of pine trees. And one of the remarkable things about a pine tree, though not many, um, is they have a taproot that goes deep, deep, deep. Matter of fact, when they're clearing land, most land clears will tell you they rather deal with oak trees and maple trees because a pine tree is difficult because the taproot goes so deep. It's not overly broad, but it is deep. And that's what your life needs to be. That I am continuing in my faith, and I'm allowing the taproot of my life to go deep into God's truth. Number three is this you got to stay connected, you gotta stay connected. You are not meant to stand alone, and courage is given to us by the community of faith that we're a part of. I remember, you know, I'll be a little careful with this. When I came to faith, my grandfather, who was my dad's father, uh, he was not a believer. Matter of fact, uh I don't think this is too strong a language, but but he kind of hated everything about the church. And he probably viewed preachers worse than he did, used car salesmen and politicians. And I remember when I shared and I wanted to win my grandparents to Christ, because when you become a believer, you want to share that message. And I remember my grandfather, we called him pop, it was just like whatever. And it crushed me. And what I needed at that moment is I needed a community of faith around me that encouraged me and inspired me to keep walking, to keep living. Some of you, you've lost friends because of your commitment to Christ. Get a new set of believers around you who will strengthen you. Some of you are having to deal with temptation that's wanting you to go in a path that that would lead you back to a place that is dark and sinister and unhealthy and unholy. And it is this community of friends around you that will pray for you and lift you up and hold you accountable. I know that's a word we don't like anymore, but we need people to hold us accountable to the commitment that we've made to Jesus. And then finally, is this in the midst of your persecution and heartache and rejections and pushbacks and all that, by the grace of God, determined to respond like Jesus would. Jesus was abused, neglected, scorned, ridiculed. He was despised. They said all manner of evil about him. Well, when that happens to you and to me, let it be our prayer. Lord, you've been in this very space before and you excelled. Help me in this moment to excel for your glory. Help me not to respond with anger or respond out of my hurt or my insecurity or my offense. God, help me to respond out of love and grace and mercy and kindness. Help me, Lord, to speak truth to power when necessary. And Lord, help me not to cower. Help me to respect and love and care. Let me do it like you did, Jesus. Because this is you and this is your kingdom and it's your righteousness. And I believe Jesus will answer that prayer each time. So, in our closing thoughts for this series, is this the question is not, will following Jesus cost you? The question really is, is he worth following? Is following Christ really worth it? And I can tell you now, almost almost 37 years of Christian living, more today than ever before, he's worthy of my life. He's worth it. He's worth the loss, he's worth the pain, he's worth the confusion, he's worth the pushback, he's worth the accusations. He is worth it. See, Jesus is not calling us to be his fans. He's calling us to be his followers. And in following him, I cannot embrace the values of this kingdom and somehow avoid the rejection that comes from the world that calls me to follow Christ. For the comfortable Christian today, maybe you're blending in too much with culture. Is there enough evidence to convict you that your life really is surrendered to Christ? For the struggling believer, what you're facing is not meaningless today. It matters. God sees, God rewards, and God honors. And for the whole church family, can we decide now that by your grace, O God, we will stand, we will proclaim, we will love, we will care, we will shine for you even when it cost us. Thank you for listening to the Tony Bismore Podcast. Available on Apple and Spotify.