We all like to be liked. None of us wants to be rejected by other people. But Jesus came along and said blessed are you if they reject you because of me. What sort of blessing is that? What did He mean?

Persecution is something that happens to people across the world, religion, politics, belief, lifestyles, sexuality, all result in persecution. Sometimes people are persecuted for doing the right things. Other times, they are persecuted for doing things that are wrong, and yet, other times they are persecuted for doing things that, well, are neither right nor wrong, they’re just different.

We have come to live with persecution, if not accept it. So long as it’s someone out there, so long as it’s someone else that is being persecuted, so long as we are not the one being persecuted, for whatever it is. Some people think that because they believe in God, they are not going to be persecuted. Well, that is just not so. Jesus said:

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Blessed are you if people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of bad things against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven.

Well you might think, well what sort of blessing is that? I remember before I became a Christian, I hated Christians. I gave them a hard time, the whole goody two shoes thing, the whole holier than thou thing, just repulsed me. And I persecuted them because of their righteousness, just like Jesus says here.

I guess looking back on it, the thing that offended me about Christians was their goodness. Their goodness was almost like a living critique of my life. My life was about making money, it was about stepping on people, it was about getting position and recognition, and that’s where my life was going. There was nothing wrong with that in my view because that's what everybody was doing in the world. And every now and then, I would meet some friends from school, or people who had now grown up like me, and they were Christians and I thought, "Ah, yuck! They made me feel so uncomfortable."

After I become a Christian, the first thing I expected was to be on easy street, that everybody would be pleased that I was a better person than before I became a Christian. It’s funny how we can have such a different perspectives depending on where we sit in life. But as time went on, as I read about this Jesus, this radical gritty, earthy guy who was out there with the poor, the lepers and healing the sick. And I read about how He dealt with real life issues, one of them was that not everybody is going to be pleased with those who stand up and say, "I am a follower of Jesus Christ."

There is a great poem, written by a man called Adrian Plass. I’m going to read it to you, ‘cause it's a wonderful poem and it talks about this subject and it's called, "When I Became A Christian". This is how it goes:

WHEN I BECAME A CHRISTIAN

When I became a Christian, I said, “Lord, now fill me in; tell me what I'll suffer in this world of shame and sin?”

He said, 'Your body may be killed and left and rot and stink. Do you still want to follow me?" I said, "Amen, I think.

I think Amen. Amen, I think. I think, I say, Amen. Look, I'm not completely, sure. Can we just run through that again?”

”You said my body could be killed and left to rot and stink? It sounds, terrific, Lord! I'll say amen. I think.

But Lord, look, there must be other ways to follow You”, I said. ”I really would prefer it to end up dying in my bed."

"Well, yes," He said. "You could put up with sneers and scorn and spit. Do you still want to follow Me?" I said, "Amen, a bit.

”A bit amen. Amen a bit. A bit, I said, Amen. Look, I'm not entirely sure. Can we just run through that again?

You said that I could put up with sneers, and scorn and spit? Well, yeah, I've made up my mind, and I say, amen… a bit."

Well, I sat back and thought a while and tried a different ploy. "Now, Lord," I said. "The Good Book says that Christians live in joy."

"That's true," He said. "You’re gonna need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow. So, do you still want to follow Me?" I said, "Amen, tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it. That's when I‘ll say Amen. You see, I’ve gotta get it clear. Let's just run through that again.

You say I'll need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow? Well, yeah, I think I’ve got it straight. I'll say Amen tomorrow."

He said, "Look, I'm not asking you to spend an hour with Me. A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity.

The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit. Now tell me, will you follow Me?" I said, "Amen. No.. I quit.

I'm sorry, Lord. I'd like to follow You, but I don't think that religion is a very manly thing to do."

He said, "Forget about religion then, and you think about My Son, and you tell me if you are man enough to do what He has done.

Are you man enough to see the need? Are you man enough to go? Are you man enough to care for those who no one wants to know?

Are you man enough to say the things that people hate to hear? And battle through Gethsemane and loneliness and fear.

And listen, are you man enough to stand it at the inn, the moment of betrayal by the kisses of your friend?

Are you man enough to hold your tongue? Are you man enough to cry? And when the nails break your body, are you man enough to die?

Man enough to take the pain, wear it like a crown? Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down?

Are you man enough to follow me? I’ll ask you once again." I said, "O, Lord, I'm frightened”. But I also said “Amen”.

”Amen, amen, amen, amen." I said, "Lord, I'm so frightened." But I also said,”Amen."

There is something real, there's something earthy, there is something realistic about Jesus. This man that poured himself out for you and me. This man who was God in the flesh who came to earth specifically to walk amongst the poor, to heal the sick, to stand up against the hypocrisy of formalised religion as it was in that day.

This man who spent time with the no-bodies who lived on the fringes of society and loved them. And ultimately because he wouldn't conform to the religious hypocrisy, this man, this God was nailed to a cross. Blessed are you, if they revile you, if they reject you, if they hate you, if they persecute you, because you call yourself a Christian. Blessed are you if they reject you the way they rejected me.

Sometimes we think that the rejection of Christianity is something that has happened in our society over the last twenty or thirty years. Now, back in the forties and the fifties, everybody kind of went to church. It was the normal thing to do. So, it's just the way life was. In the sixties and the seventies people said, "Hang on, we don't like this formalised religion thing, and we're going to reject it." So we have a very short memory.

Christ, Jesus, The Son of God was rejected in His day. After He was crucified, and He rose again, and He ascended to be with God in Heaven, His followers were rejected and they were persecuted. Roman emperors covered them in tar and put them on sticks and use them as lights at their parties. They threw them into the Coliseum with lions.

Just because someone says, "I'm going to be a Christian," doesn't mean that everybody is going to be happy about it. And yet Jesus said:

You are blessed if they persecute you and they reject you the way they rejected me, you are blessed. For great is your reward in Heaven.

It's an awesome thing to know that we serve a God, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, serve a God who doesn't live in an air conditioned, comfortable, 5-star hotel in Heaven, and doesn't know what it is like to be persecuted. The Son of God was persecuted, beaten and nailed to a cross to pay for my sins and to pay for your sins.

Sometimes if we believe in Jesus and you may also believe in Jesus, as I do, it's uncomfortable. Sometimes we think it is not fair I believe in this Jesus and the people around me persecute me and they reject me and they belittle me. It is part of God's plan. It's just the way it is going to be. That's how it was for Jesus. That's how it was for the early church. And today, people are still persecuted for their faith.

Now, where we live, we might be rejected. We may have people laugh at us, we may have people poke fun at us, but in the twentieth century alone more Christians were martyred, that is killed for being followers of Jesus. More Christians were killed in the twentieth century than the 2000 years prior to that. It’s a scary thing.

God's plan is that we will be persecuted. God's plan is that our reward will be great.