Does anybody like to be rejected有没有人喜欢被拒绝, insulted or persecuted被人辱骂，被人逼迫? And do you feel exceedingly joyful when that happens为此你会感到特别高兴欢喜吗? I believe that nobody in the natural would enjoy and rejoice at being rejected我相信，没有一个天然人会享受被拒绝感，并为此高兴. But in the eighth Beatitude但在第八福中, Jesus says耶稣却说, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5: 11-12). 为义受逼迫的人有福了，因为天国是他们的。人若因我辱骂你们，逼迫你们，捏造各样坏话毁谤你们，你们就有福了。应当欢喜快乐，因为你们在天上的赏赐是大的。在你们以前的先知，人也是这样逼迫他们。（太5:10-12）

1, “Who we are” brings us persecution“我们是谁（基督里的身份）”带来逼迫

We have been working through the first of the seven Beatitudes我们一直在查天国八福的前七福, which tells us “who we are” 这告诉“我们是谁”and “what a true follower looks like”以及“真正的跟随者是怎样”. They are humble他们是灵里贫穷的人, and seeking to be controlled by the power of the Spirit愿意被圣灵的能力所管制. They are hungry and thirsty after righteousness他们饥渴慕义. They are merciful and pure in heart他们怜恤人，有清洁的心, seeking a holy life寻求圣洁生命, to be peacemakers寻求成为使人和睦的人.

Now we’re coming to the final Beatitude今天我们来查最后一福, it tells us what is going to come upon us它告诉我们 之后 会发生什么事, if we seek to be like Jesus若我们追求象耶稣 – persecution就有逼迫! As Christians in this comfortable country在这个舒适的国家, 作为基督徒，we might think我们可能这样想, “If I’m doing the right thing如果我做对了, everything is gonna be great一切都会顺利.”  But our Lord just said the opposite但主耶稣所说的正好相反! He told us that when we are really doing the right thing in God’s eyes祂告诉我们，我们若行神眼中看为正的事, persecution is inevitable (persecution is surely to come)受逼迫是必然的. It is just a result of who we are这是我们的身份导致的结果! We don’t have to look for persecution我们用不着自己找逼迫, but persecution will come upon us 逼迫会自己找上我们，because of the righteousness that we are revealing to this world都因我们向世界彰显神的义.

Do you know why这是为什么? Because the righteous God is revealed in Jesus Christ因神的义是借耶稣基督显出来的, but he was persecuted by men但却被人逼迫. Jesus also said in Matt 10: 24-25在（太10:24-25），主说, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 学生不能高过先生，仆人不能高过主人。学生和先生一样，仆人和主人一样也就罢了。人既骂家主是别西卜（注：“别西卜”是鬼王的名），何况他的家人呢！

Our Lord Jesus was perfectly righteous主耶稣全然公义, but He was但祂却

•      Rejected 被拒绝• mocked 被取笑• stoned 被人拿石头扔• flogged 被人鞭打• and finally crucified被钉在十字架上

as His true followers作为祂的门徒 can we avoid being persecuted by our enemies for His righteousness sake我们能不因义的缘故 被人逼迫? Admittedly无可否认的, the more we live for the sake of Christ’s righteousness我们越为基督的义而活; the more we let our light shine我们越让光显明; the more we stand up for the truth我们越坚持真理, the more we will be persecuted我们就越会被逼迫!  The Open Doors US defines persecution as “any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ.” 美国的《Open Doors》这样定义 迫害： 是因基督徒的身份 而遭受敌对。

“Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world并且，基督徒仍然是世界上遭受迫害最多的宗教团体.” And “Open Doors” researchers identified 2016 as the “worst year yet.” 《Open Doors》调查显示2016年是“迄今为止最糟糕的一年”

·        Approximately 215 million Christians experience high, very high, or extreme persecution约2.15亿基督徒受到重、很重、和极重程度的迫害.

·        North Korea remains the most dangerous place to be a Christian (for 14 straight years) （14年以来）北韩一直是对基督徒最危险的国家.

·        The top 10 nations where it is most dangerous and difficult to practice the Christian faith are对基督徒最危险和最难生活的十大地区是:

1. North Korea北韩, 2. Somalia索马利亚, 3. Afghanistan阿富汗,4. Pakistan巴基斯坦, 5.Sudan苏丹, 6. Syria叙利亚, 7. Iraq伊拉克, 8 Iran伊朗 9. Yemen也门 10 Eritrea厄利垂亚

Let’s watch a short video about “Christians being persecuted globally” 让我们来看一个关于“基督徒在全球受逼迫”的视频：

Is this shocking to you令人震惊，是吗? You must be aware of the fact that “who you are” can bring persecution to you你必须要意识到“我们的身份” 会带来怎样的逼迫. You may say可能你会说, “in western society在西方社会, we don’t have such intense persecution不会有这种激烈的逼迫, which could cause us to lose our houses信主会叫我们失去房子, to lose our careers失去工作, even to lose our lives甚至叫我们丧命.”  “Really真的吗?”

A Christian couple有一对基督徒夫妇, who ran a bakery refused to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple经营了一家面包店，他们拒绝卖结婚蛋糕给同性恋, just because of their faith是因信仰的缘故, not only did they lose their business他们不但失去了生意, but also而且, they received a USD $135,000 fine收到13.5万美元的罚单, which caused them to go bankrupt这罚单叫他们破产. Similar things happened in the UK and Australia as well同样的事情在英国和澳大利亚也有发生. But Thank our God但感谢主, who raised people up to pull them through祂兴起人来帮助他们度过难关! They witnessed God’s grace throughout the hard times他们在艰难中见证了神的恩典. Christians are not called to be comfortable 基督徒蒙召不为过舒服的生活，but are called to do good to those who persecute them because of “who they are”而是因基督徒的身份要向那逼迫者行善.

2, Persecution is relevant to receiving a great reward in heaven逼迫与得天国大赏赐有关 

Why does Jesus guarantee us persecution为什么耶稣应许我们一定受逼迫? To answer this question要回答这个问题, we must notice that persecution is for righteousness’ sake我们必须知道，逼迫是为义的缘故. 1 Peter 2:19-25《彼前2:19-25》... Thus, it’s not our bad behaviour that causes us to be criticized我们自己的行为不好被指正不是受逼迫. It’s not our laziness that gets us fired因懒惰使我们被炒鱿鱼不是受逼迫. It’s not our religious fanaticism that gets us into trouble因我们的宗教狂热惹麻烦也不是受逼迫. It is for righteousness sake逼迫是因义的缘故!

John the apostle identified himself to us in this way使徒约翰这样表明自己, “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus Re 1:9. 我约翰就是你们的弟兄，和你们在耶稣的患难、国度、忍耐里一同有份（启1:9）”  Did you notice what he described are ours in Jesus你有没有发现他说 在基督里 我们会有什么吗? Kingdom国度! Are you happy with that开不开心? But可是, along with the kingdom和国度一起的, come suffering and patient endurance还有患难和忍耐!  The first martyr in the bible was killed for righteousness sake圣经中第一位殉道者因义被杀, his name was Abel他的名字叫亚伯, which was written in Gen 4写在《创世纪4章》里.

What does righteousness mean义是什么? Gen 15:6, Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.（创15:6）亚伯兰信耶和华，耶和华就以此为他的义.  Believing in the Lord can be counted as righteousness信神就算为义. Heb 11:4a（来11:4上）说, says “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain.亚伯因着信，献祭与神，比该隐所献的更美。 It was Abel’s faith这就是亚伯的信, but it caused him to be killed导致他被杀! Have you ever thought about it你有没有想过? For what reason did Abel become a shepherd亚伯为什么去牧羊?

As people in those days only ate plants and fruit那个时代，人们只吃蔬菜水果, because in Gen 1: 29 then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” 因（创1:29） 神说：“看哪，我将遍地上一切结种子的菜蔬，和一切树上所结有核的果子，全赐给你们做食物。” Until Gen 9直到第9章, when Noah came out of the ark当挪亚从方舟里出来, God said this to him神对他说,

Gen 9, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, …the fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 神赐福给挪亚和他的儿子，对他们说：“……凡地上的走兽和空中的飞鸟，都必惊恐、惧怕你们；连地上一切的昆虫并海里一切的鱼，都交付你们的手。凡活着的动物，都可以作你们的食物，这一切我都赐给你们，如同菜蔬一样。”  

Namely也就是说, in Gen 3（创世纪）3章的时候, human wasn’t given animal to eat by the Creator God造物主还没有将动物赐给人当食物! They only ate plants and fruit 他们只吃地里的出产。So what did Abel eat if he only kept flocks for sacrificing as an offering to God亚伯养羊只是为了给神献祭的话，那么他吃什么? We don’t know我们不知道. But that was his faith但那是他的信, which only pleased God单讨了神的喜欢, and was counted as righteousness before God在神面前就算为义!

Can we find any faithful believers in the bible who didn’t suffer persecution for righteousness sake在圣经中能不能找出大有信心，却未因义受逼迫的人? I can’t我找不到! Moses suffered his people’s rejection and was almost stoned by them摩西被自己的百姓拒绝，他们甚至要用石头扔他. Joseph was envied by his brothers and sold to be a slave约瑟，被自己的兄弟嫉妒， 被卖做奴隶and was put into jail unjustly并且被冤枉下在监里.

David, God calls him “a man after His own heart”大卫，神说他是“合我心意的人”, was persecuted and chased by king Saul被扫罗王逼迫追杀, and lived in the wilderness for many years在旷野里生活了许多年. Daniel, we know that because of his faith但以理，因他的信, he was persecuted and thrown into the lions’ den被逼迫，丢在狮子洞里. Who else还有谁?

Do you know how the twelve disciples died你知道十二门徒怎么死的? Except for the apostle John除了使徒约翰, they all became martyrs都成了殉道者, Paul the apostle was beheaded保罗被斩头, and Peter was crucified彼得被钉死, upside down at his own request他自己要求倒钉十字架, because he didn’t feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord因他觉得不配象主一样地死去.

But they are surely blessed但他们都蒙了祝福! For theirs is the kingdom of God因神的国是他们的! you know why你知道为什么? The bible clearly says圣经明明白白地说, “If indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory Romans 8: 17. 如果我们和他一同受苦，也必和他一同的荣耀。（罗8:17）”  

It is far more than just being saved 和他一同得荣耀远超过仅仅得救。 It is telling us how to become overcomers这是在说怎么成为得胜者，and receive a great reward in heaven! 和承受得胜的大赏赐。We are blessed我们是蒙福的! Although our natural minds don’t like to be persecuted尽管我们天然人不喜欢被逼迫,

or even we don’t like to hear sorts of messages或许也不喜欢听这样的信息，yet we really need to look intently into the perfect truth 但我们确实需要深入认识全备的真理 and get inspiration to deepen our faith来激励增进我们的信心! Lord Jesus clearly tells us主耶稣明确的说, that those who only seek miracles那些只追求神迹 and don’t want to share suffering and perseverance in His footsteps却不愿跟随耶稣的脚踪，在祂的受苦和忍耐上有份的人, to them our Lord will say主对他们说, “I don’t know you我不认识你.”

Persecution exists in various forms 逼迫以很多的形式存在. When I became a Christian当我信主时, my parents immediately rejected me我父母立即拒绝我, the precious daughter of them 他们所珍爱的女儿，and cut me off from the family for three years跟我断绝关系有三年之久, because they were so hurt and sad by what I believed in因他们因我所信的而大受伤, they didn’t understand why他们不理解为什么, why I had quit my business which had been thriving为什么我放弃蒸蒸日上的生意, why I had sold my properties and had given the money to the poor为什么我卖家产把钱分给穷人? Why I had opened the door of my home to be like a shelter for many为什么我打开家门好像避难所一样, and why we no longer had a normal family life there when my daughter was in her teenage并且为什么在我们孩子才十几岁时，家就不再有正常的家庭生活?

The church I had established and ministered to rejected me我建立和牧养的教会也拒绝我, and a group of people spoke many words falsely against me for many years好几年时间，一些人不停讲我的坏话, just like the people did to Moses in the wilderness就象以色列民在旷野对待摩西那样. Lots of prophetic words that the Lord gave me were undoubtedly fulfilled throughout the years那些年间，神赐给我的预言全都一一成就， people in bondage were set free被捆绑的人得了释放, however可是, it didn’t bring me honour我不但没有因此被尊重, but more persecution逼迫反而加增. Somebody said 有人说,“She cast out demons by the prince of demons她靠鬼王赶鬼.” If you go to our home church 若你去我们家的教会, they will tell you more stories他们会告诉你更多. But thanks be to God但感谢神, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ祂在基督里领我们夸胜! Eventually后来, my parents became Christians我父母都信了主, my enemies became my friends恨我的人成了我的朋友. Guess what为啥呢?

Believe in His words相信神的话! “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. Psa 119:105. 你的话是我脚前的灯，是我路上的光。（诗篇119:105）” Have you ever experienced that when you were in a dark place你有没有试过在一个漆黑的地方, suddenly a beam of light shone before you 突然一束光照在你面前? What did you feel at that moment你感觉如何? Excited兴奋! because the light gave you a  direction因为那光给了你方向!

In the same way 同样，in the midst of your suffering你若在患难中, please don’t forget to come back to God’s word要回到神的话中which is your light 它是你的光. Don’t allow your natural feelings and thoughts to rule in your heart不要容天然情绪和想法在心里掌权!

When I suffered persecution and grievance for His righteousness sake the first time当第一次为祂的义受逼迫和委屈时, I was crying with many tears and praying before God我在主前流泪祷告, I confessed to Him我向祂承认说, that my heart was very heavy我的心好沉重, and I didn’t know how to love my enemies我不知道怎样去爱我的仇敌! But He comforted and instructed me with His words但神安慰了我，用祂的话指示我, 1 Peter 4:12-19, …But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you maybe overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rest on you…  （彼前4:12-19）……倒要欢喜。因为你们是与基督一同受苦，使你们在他荣耀显现的时候，也可以欢喜快乐。你们若为基督的名受辱骂，便是有福的，因为神荣耀的灵常住在你们身上。……  God words gave me hope and direction 神的话给我盼望和方向! Why does persecution come upon us逼迫为什么会临到我们? Because we are participating in the suffering of Christ因我们正与基督一同受苦! And it confirms that our faith is real这证实了我们的信仰是真的, because we are becoming more like our Lord因我们越发象我们的主!

Don’t be discouraged if you are being insulted by your family members or others, who are not Christians for His righteousness sake你若因义被家人或者其他人辱骂，不要灰心, you are blessed你是有福的! Turn your mind from self-seeking to the eternal goal你的心由自己的意思转向永恒的目标, and pray for God’s will祷告寻求神的旨意, and you will be able to rejoice about it就能欢喜快乐!

3, Persecution is for bringing God’s love to this world逼迫是为将神的爱带到世界

In 2 Timothy 3:12（提后3:12）说 it says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 不但如此，凡立志在基督耶稣里敬虔度日的，也都要受逼迫。” Persecution is not just for the apostles不止是使徒受逼迫, or for pastors或者牧师, but for everyone而是所有人. Everyone who wants to live a godly life will have enemies凡立志敬虔度日的都有仇敌来逼迫! If you say如果你说, “I don’t have enemies because of my faith没有人因为我的信来恨我.” Probably your faith is not showing enough godliness也许你的信还不够敬虔.

Because Jesus said因耶稣说, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you” (Luke 6:26). 人都说你们好的时候，你们就有祸了（路6:26） Also还有, John 15:18-19（约15:18-19）说, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 世人若恨你们，你们知道（注：或作“该知道”）恨你们以先，已经恨我了。你们若属世界，世界必爱属自己的；只因你们不属世界，乃是我从世界中拣选了你们，所以，世界就恨你们。

Where is the world世界在哪里? It’s in people’s hearts就在人心中! If we refuse to act the way the world acts如果我们不效法这个世界, we will become their enemies我们就成了他们的仇敌! But what should we do to our enemies但我们该怎样对待仇敌呢? When Jesus mentioned persecution当主讲到逼迫, He taught us祂这样教导我们,

“luke 6:27b, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you…35, But love your enemies, do good to them,…then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 路6：27下，你们的仇敌，要爱他！恨你们的，要待他好！咒诅你们的，要为他祝福！……35，你们倒要爱仇敌，也要善待他们，并要借给人不指望偿还，你们的赏赐就必大了，你们也必作至高者的儿子，因为他恩待那忘恩的和作恶的。你们要慈悲，像你们的父慈悲一样。”

Remember that while we were still His enemies当我们还与神为仇的时候, we were reconciled to God by the blood of His Son Christ藉着神儿子基督的血我们与神和好, God drew us into His story of salvation by His grace and mercy藉着祂的恩典和怜悯，使我们参与祂拯救的计划, so that we have become His children以使我们成为祂的孩子, and His ambassadors on earth祂的大使! How much more should we prove to the world that we have the Same DNA as our Father我们不更要向世界来证明我们与父有相同的DNA吗?

Some Christians may struggle to forgive and love their enemies有基督徒或许在要不要饶恕、爱仇敌上挣扎, because they suspect that they are letting those who are doing wrong get away with it因为他们怀疑，那不就让做坏事的人逃脱了. No不! Because God said因主说, “It is mine to avenge, I will repay. Romans 12: 19b 伸冤在我，我必报应。（罗12:19下）” “Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished. Exodus 34:7b 万不以有罪的为无罪。（出34:7下）” It means that all sins will be punished这是说，所有罪都要被惩治! But judgment belongs to the Lord God almighty但审判的主权在全能神!

Our responsibility is to believe in God我们的本分在于信靠神, and be refined to become more in His-likeness through undergoing persecution且借着经历逼迫，炼净更加象祂.  “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you要爱你们的仇敌，为那逼迫你们的祷告”, How to pray怎么祷告? Do we pray that God’s punishment would come upon those who persecute us是不是要祷告 求神惩治那些逼迫我们的人? Do we pray that they would be beaten by others祷告 求神找人打他们? Or that their credit cards would be stolen或祷告，求神让他们的信用卡被偷？

 No不! when Jesus was on the Cross主在十字架上时, He prayed他祷告说, “Father, forgive them! For they don’t know what they are doing.父啊，赦免他们；因为他们所做的，他们不晓得。” When Stephen one of the early church followers of Jesus was persecuted and stoned早期教会中耶稣的跟随者司提反被石头打死时, he didn’t pray他没有祷告说, “Lord, show your justice to my enemies主啊，求你伸张正义!” Rather想反, he prayed他却祷告说, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them主啊，不要将这罪归于他们.” What a touching prayer showing God’s love and forgiveness to this world这是何等感人的祷告，向这世界表明神的爱和饶恕, without holding any hatred or grudges toward his enemies丝毫没有对仇敌的怨恨. He even paid the cost of losing his life for saving sinners他甚至付上生命的代价来救罪人.

Yes对, this is our real DNA that displays who we are to our enemies这就是我们的DNA，向仇敌表明“我们是谁”, when we are persecuted当被逼迫时, if we follow this way我们若走这条路, surely God will do His part for the rest of the story we are undergoing神定会做这受逼迫计划中余下的那部分工. God’s story is all about His salvation to this world神的计划就是祂对这个世界的拯救! If we follow Christ Jesus’ path我们若跟随耶稣基督的脚踪, not only will our souls be redeemed and purified more and more不单是我们自己的魂被更多的洁净和拯救, but also而且, those who persecute us will see His salvation那些逼迫我们的人也会看到祂的救恩! Nothing we pay towards the cost for the gospel’s sake will be wasted我们为福音的缘故付上的任何一点代价，都不会白费, nor nothing reaped也不会颗粒无收!

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecuted you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 为义受逼迫的人有福了；人若因我辱骂你们，逼迫你们，捏造各样的坏话毁谤你们，你们就有福了。应当欢喜快乐，因为你们在天上的赏赐是大的。在你们以前的先知，人也是这样逼迫他们。

The following is a true story which happened in India下面是一个发生在印度的故事, let’s have a look让我们来看一看:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUWHRWjkE8M