How to Be Happy, Part 2 | Christian Persecution

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. There's happiness, yes, happiness in the persecution we face. Happy, happy are the persecuted because it means that you're a child of God. It's confirmation you're a child of God.

Rejoice! What's the proof that we're part of the body of Christ? Is there a membership card, a secret handshake, an insignia we wear on our clothing? I mean, the Bible says they'll know we're Christians by our love, but what about some bona fide credentials? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the persecution we may face is a pretty good indicator that we're part of God's family.

I mean, when's the last time you heard of an unbeliever being persecuted for Christ? Well, Pastor Greg explains it all today. Here before us now in the Sermon on the Mount, the point of entry is what we call the beatitudes, or another way to put it, attitudes that should be. You could even call them the be happy attitudes, right? And each beatitude begins with the word blessed, and as I pointed out to you before, the word blessed is interchangeable with the word happy. So you could just as easily say happy are the poor in spirit, happy are the meek, happy are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, and so forth.

So keep that in mind as we read them again. Jesus is unlocking for us the secret to happiness. Matthew chapter five, starting in verse two. He opened his mouth and taught them, that would be the disciples, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. We'll stop there.

Let's review what we already discovered together. First of all, happy are the humble. Happy are the humble. Blessed are the poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit means you see yourself as you really are, spiritually destitute, a sinner in need of a savior.

Number two, happy people are unhappy people, if you will. Blessed are they that mourn, verse four, for they shall be comforted. Contextually, what this means is I see my sinful condition. I'm sorry for the way that I am. I'm sorry for the things I've said and things that I've done.

And I mourn over it. The Bible says godly sorrow produces repentance. And thirdly, a happy person will be a meek person, verse five. Blessed are the meek. And all that means is simply seeing myself as I am. It's power under constraint. Remember, meekness is not weakness. Power is submitting yourself to the authority of God. Then we have the desire for a righteous life. A happy person passionately desires a righteous life, verse six. Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

This is speaking of spiritual hunger, a hunger and desire for God. Happy people are merciful people. Look at verse seven. Blessed are the merciful.

It's very simple. Mercy is seeing a man without food and giving him food. Mercy is seeing someone who is lonely and giving them company. Mercy is not just seeing a need, it's meeting the need. It's pity plus action.

It's doing something about it. We can stand around all day and say, oh, I feel so sorry for those people. But mercy says I'm going to do something for those people. A happy person will be a holy person. Verse eight. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Now this comes back to what's already happened to us if we go to the first beatitude. I've seen myself as I am, a sinner. I've mourned over my condition, producing a sense of meekness in me and a hunger and thirst for spiritual things and a desire to extend mercy.

Now I have this purity in heart. But also a happy person will be a peacemaker. Look at verse nine. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Now this is not talking really about people that march for peace or work for peace, though that is a good thing if it's done right. But having said that, this verse is really talking about a person who is spreading the gospel of peace. Seeking to introduce people to the prince of peace. The gospel is called the good news of peace through Jesus Christ in Acts 10, 36.

In Romans 10, 15 it says, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. Now there's one last beatitude. I don't think you're going to like this one. But it's there. And fittingly, it's at the very end.

Number four. A happy person will be persecuted. Look at verse 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted the prophets that were before you. If you want to be a happy person, you're going to be a persecuted person.

Let's put it all together. I see myself as I really am. I'm poor in spirit. I mourn over my condition.

Blessed are they that mourn. It produces a new meekness in me and a hunger and thirst for righteousness. Now I'm extending mercy to others. Now I'm a peacemaker talking about Jesus to others.

People don't like that. And because of that, you're going to be persecuted. This is one of those promises of God we don't like to claim. We'll claim promises all day long about God's provision, God's blessing.

But then, when's the last time you claimed this promise? All that live godly in Jesus Christ will suffer persecution. You prayed that one lately? Lord, I feel like I'm not being persecuted enough. Send more persecution. Well, no, we don't pray that. But here's what we should do if we're persecuted.

We should rejoice. Notice what Jesus says, blessed or happy are the persecuted. It's interesting because he uses the word blessed twice, so double blessed are the persecuted. Or another way to put it, happy, happy are the persecuted. Because it means that you're a child of God. It's confirmation you're a child of God.

Let me turn it around. If you're never persecuted, are you really a child of God? You know, Jesus said beware when all men speak well of you. I mean, you can be the nicest person, the friendliest person, the most considerate person, and then people make up lies about you. Good. Let them make lies up about you.

Here's the key. Be persecuted for righteousness' sake. Jesus did not say blessed are those who are persecuted for self-righteousness. See, the problem is sometimes as Christians we're persecuted for the wrong reasons. We're persecuted because we're obnoxious or because we're very judgmental or we all act like a bunch of Karens all the time.

You know what I'm talking about? Always a critical word. Always a lecture. Always looking down on others. The very opposite of what we ought to be as followers of Jesus. Well, let it be for righteousness' sake because you're a bright light in a dark place, not persecution for being moronic or idiotic or any other reason. And persecution can show itself in many ways. It can be violent. Many Christians have been martyred for the faith. The most persecuted people in the world today without question are Christians. And so you will face persecution. It can be violent.

It can be more subtle. Maybe you're canceled because you speak up for what is true. It could be the loss of a job, being the brunt of people's jokes, losing friends.

But it's going to happen. So what should I do? Hang my head in depression?

No, Jesus says, verse 12, rejoice and be glad. Or as another translation puts it, jump and skip with happy excitement. I like that. Jump and skip with happy excitement. Let's all do that right now. Come on, everybody on your feet. There's really not enough room.

But the very opposite of what we would think. Hey man, rejoice for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. Now look, there is a way out of this, by the way. You say, I don't like what you're saying, Greg.

That makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to be persecuted. Okay, here's how you will never be persecuted.

Are you ready? Don't be a peacemaker. Don't tell others about Jesus. Just fit in. Do what everybody else does.

Say what everybody else says. Never say what you believe is true and you won't be persecuted for righteous sake. But remember what Jesus said in Luke 9, 26. Whoever is ashamed of me and my works, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory. I don't want Jesus to be ashamed of me. Persecution is a confirmation that you are a child of God.

It means you're doing your job right and persecution can be used by God to help us spiritually. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody, I want to encourage you to join us for something we call Harvest at Home. It happens every Sunday at Harvest.org and on our brand new app, Harvest Plus, which is available on your mobile TV devices.

Download it now. And you can watch Harvest at Home with Christians from around the world as we worship together and study God's word. So again, join us for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org or on Harvest Plus. Well, we're talking about persecution today. Pastor Greg is pointing out it's in the Beatitudes. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Let's continue. I read about how they were shipping codfish from the east coast to the west coast. But they were having some problems because when it arrived it was spoiled. So then they tried freezing it, but when it arrived it was mushy to the taste.

So then they shipped it live, but when it arrived it was dead. So someone came up with a very clever idea of putting a live catfish in the tank with the codfish. The catfish is the mortal enemy of the codfish. So the codfish spent the entire journey running from the catfish and when it arrived it was fresh and tasty.

Question, has God put a catfish in your tank? You understand what I'm saying? A person that drives you crazy could be a neighbor, could be a family member, could be your mom, your dad, your son, your daughter, your husband, your wife. It could be a coworker and they're always hassling you, always making fun of you, always battering you with question after question trying to embarrass you. They're like a catfish in your tank and you've literally prayed, Lord get this person out of my life, but maybe God will use them in your life to keep you on your toes spiritually. But here's something else you need to know about these people. When a person is persecuting you, when they're attacking your faith, it could be a sign that they're closer to the kingdom of God than you realize.

See we think that passive sweet people maybe are closer than they really are. You might talk to someone about your faith. Tell them what Jesus has done for you and they'll say, I'm so happy you found religion. I can see you're a much happier person than you used to be.

I'm really happy for you. Oh that's great. Would you like to come to church with me Sunday? No thank you. Oh. How about the next Sunday? No. How about the Sunday after? I'm busy. No.

What about two years from now? Sorry, busy. Okay. But they're so sweet. They have no interest whatsoever in what you've just told them. But then there's a person you tell them. They argue with you. They get angry. They yell at you. Oh that person is so far from God's kingdom.

What if they're under the conviction of the Holy Spirit? You know it's been said when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that barks the loudest is the one that got hit. Try it after church. Find a pack of dogs, throw a rock.

No don't. Especially if they're pit bulls. The idea of that is when a person lashes out, when they bark at you so to speak, maybe they're under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Case in point. A man named Saul of Tarsus who made it the mission of his life to hunt down, arrest, and stop Christians. He thought he was doing God's work. And one day as he was on his way on the Damascus road to arrest more Christians, Jesus Christ comes to him. And Jesus says to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Saul says, who are you, Lord? And he's probably thinking, don't say Jesus, don't say Jesus, don't say Jesus. I am Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Echo. Who you are persecuting. And then the Lord says, it's hard for you to kick against the goad, that's King James. But isn't it interesting, Jesus says when you persecute Christians, you're persecuting me, first of all. And then secondly, to kick against the goad simply means you're resisting the work of the Spirit. A goad is simply a sharpened stick.

So when you wanted your animal to go faster, instead of pressing the pedal to the metal, you poked him with the stick. God's saying you're kicking against that stick, you're fighting with me when I'm trying to get hold of you. So Paul believed, of course, or Saul believed, I should say, and became Paul, the great apostle.

But the reason he was behaving the way he was was because God's Spirit was working on him. So pray for the people who are persecuting you. Now I know, I've not painted for some a very appealing picture of the Christian life today, have I? Okay, if you want to be a Christian, you've got to be humble, you've got to be meek, you've got to be forgiving, you've got to be merciful, and you'll probably be persecuted, oh great.

Where do I sign up? Well look, it's not easy to be a Christian. Whimps need not apply.

Snowflakes, forget about it. It takes courage to be a Christian, especially in this day and age. But listen to this, Jesus Christ is not only worth living for, he's worth dying for, right? So yes, it's not easy, but it's worth it. It's worth it because it gives you life and meaning and hope and purpose in this life and the certainty of an afterlife and the presence of God in a place called heaven. Nothing else can give you that.

No guru, no prophet, no religious system, no possession, no career, no amount of success, no matter how many followers you have on social media, none of these things are going to bring you the happiness you want in life, but a relationship with God will. But we have to admit our sin and ask God to forgive us. You say, well Greg, I've done some pretty horrible things.

I don't know if God would forgive me. I spoke at this event called Heal Our Patriots for the patriots that have served our country and there was one man in particular, his name is Mike. They called him Big Mike because he's big.

He's a very big Mike. You look up at him, he had a long beard. So he fought for our country and was wounded in battle and did things and saw things he could not unsee or forget. He was traumatized, had severe PTSD, tried to take his life on two occasions, one time putting a gun in his mouth and another time his family found him preparing to take his life and they stopped him.

Please don't leave us, we love you. But he was so tormented by the things that he'd done in war, the things he had seen in war. But Mike came into contact with Christians who loved him and his life was changed and he gave his life to Jesus Christ and now not only is he a forgiven man, but now he's actually a chaplain ministering to others who have been traumatized in battle.

Maybe I'm talking to someone right now, a young lady, maybe an older lady at this point. You had an abortion, you had more than one abortion and you're tormented by that. Now you realize what you've done, you took the innocent life of an unborn child. Well listen, I know you did that and I know it was a sin, but I also know Christ died for that sin and you can be forgiven of it. You'll be forgiven of that sin. No matter what you've done, God will forgive you. But you must come to him and say, Lord help me, I can't change myself, but I need your help, I need your forgiveness, come into my life. That's why Jesus went and died on a cross for you 2,000 years ago because there was no way you could save yourself. But while we were yet sinners, the Bible says Christ died for us.

And why? Because he loves us. For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God loves you, God will forgive you, God will change you, but you must come to him. You have to admit you're a sinner. Come back to that first beatitude, blessed are the poor in spirit.

Lord, I know I'm a sinner, I know I need you, and that I'm sorry for my sin, blessed are they that mourn you, turn from your sin. Listen, when you get to the end of yourself, you get to the beginning of God. Maybe I'm talking to someone right now that has thought of taking your life. Please don't ever think about that.

Don't ever do that. You're loved by God, you're loved by so many others as well. The devil hates you, he wants to destroy you. Jesus said the thief, speaking of Satan, comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus said I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly. Satan wants to destroy your life, Christ wants to restore your life and forgive you. But you just gotta come to him.

Well, Greg, I don't know. Let me clean my life up and then I'll come to God. No, no. Come to God and he'll clean your life up. You come as you are. Come with your problems. Come with your addictions. Come with your sins. Come just as you are as we sing.

Just come and he will forgive you. In a moment we're gonna pray and I'm going to extend an invitation to anyone here or listening wherever you are. If you've never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, you can do it right here, right now, and you will find the happiness you've always wanted.

Not from seeking it, but from seeking and knowing God. If you need Jesus, respond to this invitation now. Let's all pray. Father, I pray for every person here, every person wherever they are. If they don't know you yet, let this be the moment they believe.

Let this be the moment they come to you and find forgiveness. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying together, there's someone here that would just say, I need Jesus. If you want Christ to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want a second chance in life, if you want to find this happiness we've been talking about wherever you are, pray this prayer after me.

Just pray this. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my savior and my Lord, as my God and as my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer with those making a change in their relationship with the Lord today. If you've just prayed that prayer with Pastor Greg and have meant the words you just prayed, your sins have been forgiven and you're now a brand new child of God. And we'd like to help you get started in this brand new life of faith. Let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's in an easy-to-understand translation with scores of special articles and helps to answer the questions new believers often have. We'll send it to you without charge. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300.

You can call anytime 24-7, 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org. Hey everybody, I'm here with my friend Max Lucado who has written a brand new book titled What Happens Next? And it's on the end times. In fact, Max, you've described this as sort of a prophecy 101 book. Okay, so let's do a lightning round.

Let me hit you with terms that we hear and why don't you just give us a quick definition of them, okay? I'll do my best. Here we go. We need some music, Dave.

Give us some lightning round music. All right. Okay, here we go, Max. What is a rapture? The rescue of the church prior to the great tribulation which we will meet the Lord in the air and will be taken into paradise.

Excellent answer. Okay, you mentioned the tribulation. What is the great tribulation period? Seven years of difficulty and trial in which the restrainer, which is the presence of the Holy Spirit working through the church, is removed in which the Antichrist has his way, but a great revival breaks out during the middle of the seven years in which many people return to Christ. And you mentioned Antichrist. Who is Antichrist? The Antichrist is the proxy of Satan, a person who does the bidding of the devil, who creates and negotiates a peace treaty after the rapture because of the chaos of the rapture and negotiates a peace treaty with Israel and the other nations leading to what appears to be peace, but in the middle of that peace he positions himself in the temple which he is allowed to be reconstructed and demands to be worshipped.

And then the result is anyone who doesn't worship him falls under persecution. So it will be the most difficult. Jesus said there has never been a time and never will be another time as difficult as those seven years. What is the Battle of Armageddon? The Battle of Armageddon is when at the end of the seven years Christ descends out of the heavens on a great white stallion crowned with all the crowns, wearing many crowns, and he defeats those who would dare to defy his will and destroy his children. And the beauty of the return of Christ to the Valley of Armageddon is that we'll be with him.

We won't do the fighting. Jesus will do it all, but we will return with him. So what is the second coming? And maybe draw a contrast between the second coming and the rapture. The rapture is when Christ comes for his church. The second coming is when Christ returns with his church. And when he returns with his church he will set up the kingdom that he long prophesied and that prayer that we've all prayed Thy kingdom come that will be done will be done on earth.

And what is that kingdom called? The millennium. The millennium is that golden era in which all the promises that God made to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, to David, and to Jeremiah will be answered. Christ will be crowned. Satan will be bound and thrown away into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. And righteous rulers will rule the earth. The reason the world is upside down is because Christ is not regarded, Satan is alive and well, and evil rulers rule. All that's going to be changed and for a thousand years we will enjoy the Garden of Eden as God intended.

Beautiful. Christ will be crowned and Satan will be bound. What a beautiful summation of our future.

That's why the Bible calls it a blessed hope. And Max deals with this a whole lot more in his brand new book, I'm Max Lucado and You're Not. No, that's not the title. No, the title of the book really is What Happens Next?

About the end times events. It's understandable. It's unique. It's fresh. It's deep.

It's biblical. And it's a book that is going to help you grow spiritually. And we want to send it to you for your gift of any size. Whatever you send will be put to good use continuing this broadcast, a new beginning. And then we'll send you your copy of What Happens Next by Max Lucado.

Yeah, that's right. So contact us today. You can call us anytime 24-7 at 1-800-821-3300. And thanks so much for your investment in the work that we do each day. We're truly listener supported. Again, dial 1-800-821-3300.

Or just go online to Harvest.org. Well, next time, Pastor Greg explains how we can make a difference in our world. It's a lesson on being salt and light. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. Hey, everybody. Thanks for listening to A New Beginning. This is a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners. So for more content that can help you know God and equip you to make Him known to others or to learn more about how you can become a Harvest Partner, just go to Harvest.org.