Blessed Are They Who Persevere in the Faith Matthew 5:1–12; 1 John 3:1-3 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God our Father who blesses us, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who persevered and won the victory for us!

We’re going talk about the blessing it is to persevere in faith, based on our Gospel, from Jesus’ sermon on the mount, 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets before you.

Before every dawn, is the night; before the calm, is the storm; before the victory, is the struggle; before the reward, is the sacrifice.

For Jesus, before rising in glory, came dying in shame; before ascending to His throne to rule, came being lifted up on His cross to die.

For the prophets and apostles, before paradise came persecution, and for some, martyrdom.

Blessed are they who endure all trial and temptation for the sake of the Gospel, for, as Jesus promised, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For those who keep the Gospel faith, there is a glory and joy everlasting. But for those who fall from the faith, there is a sadness and sorrow that never ends.

God’s goal for us is joy and glory, a share of His magnificent eternal Kingdom. Thanks be to God for our faithful, departed loved ones, who now share in that joy.

Jesus promises us in Rev. 2:10, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. The NIV translation calls it “the victor’s crown”.

Blessed are they who have kept the faith, who by the power of the Holy Spirit, have persevered to the end, for theirs is the victor’s crown. 

May yours be the victor’s crown!

The apostle Paul, as he was awaiting execution, his punishment for following and proclaiming Christ, confided to his close friend, Timothy, 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for His appearing.

Paul could say this and mean it, because he really wasn’t waiting for his execution -- he was waiting for his reward, the glory Christ promises and gives to all who believe and remain in faith. 

As Jesus says, 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Paul was waiting, not to die as a criminal, but to live as royalty, as a dearly loved child of the King of kings, to receive a godly reward, the glory and the crown Christ had won for him; and that He has won for and awarded to Arlo, and Terry, and O. J., and Keith, and all who faithfully waited for it.

For a small congregation like ours, where we’re so much a family, it’s pretty traumatic to have four funerals in two months’ time.

But we were blessed by God to have a wedding and several Baptisms during this time and in the months before. 

This reminds us that, while God is blessing His children in Heaven with glory, He’s blessing His family on earth with love, and faith, and hope; and with all we need to persevere, to never give up on the heavenly promise God gave us when we were baptized in His name.

Is there a better way to start your life than with an extravagant promise, that you know will come true? 

The promise given to you at Baptism can’t be broken, because of who made the promise. 

Of Him, 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.

God is faithful; it’s His nature; He doesn’t have it in Him to break His promises to you, only to keep them.

So what is this extravagant, extraordinary promise God made to us? 

Our Epistle says, How great is the love that the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God; and that’s exactly what we are!

A place in His dear family, to receive His healing love, to be empowered by faith, to be uplifted with hope, and to have the forgiveness that makes everything new; these are God’s perfect gifts, His promises for you to live by.

But there’s more. We’ve all heard those words in commercials, “But wait – there’s more. If you order today…”.

With God’s unbreakable promises, there truly is more to come, far more. 

That’s because, just as God is the great promise-keeper, He’s also great giver, as Arlo and Terry and O. J. and Keith, and all our faithful departed loved ones, can attest to.

Scripture says that the blessings God gives to us now, are like a deposit on what’s to come. 

The joys and blessings God pours upon us during our earthly life, are like a huge platter of appetizers; just a taste of, and a preparation for, the greater blessings to come. 

A few weeks ago, on a Sunday evening, my daughters and I went to see Jacquie in Silver Lake, and when we got there, the doors were locked; we couldn’t get in because of a case of Covid. 

So we went to Walmart in Hutchinson to pick up a few things, and then we decided to eat at Applebee’s. We ordered just appetizers, one big plate of a variety of delicious appetizers. 

The waitress, however, misunderstood us; she came with 3 of those huge plates of appetizers.

Sometimes, that’s how it is with God’s blessings; sometimes we feel so extremely blessed, because we are; God heaps mountains of wonderful blessings upon us.

As great and abundant as our blessings on earth are, they’re just appetizers. They are, as we sing in our liturgy, a foretaste of the feast to come. Even greater and more abundant blessings will fill our lives in Heaven. 

This is the destiny of all who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, put their hope and trust in Christ; and remain in Him, faithful in life and in death, persevering to the end.

Like Paul and the apostles and all the saints, all the faithful departed, we’re not really waiting to die -- we’re waiting for the second and best part of our lives, the main part, the eternal part, the more glorious part, when, in the wonders of Heaven, we will see our Savior in all His majestic splendor, the most beautiful sight we’ll ever see. 

And we will see our dear loved ones who went in faith before us, and we will embrace them with tears of joy; and together, we will rejoice and praise God in glory forever!

We don’t know how our end will come in this life; but we do know, that persevering in the faith, this life will end with a reward -- and what a reward it will be!

Our final reward is so great and glorious because we didn’t earn it. We’re fallen in sin; we’re incapable of achieving such a great and lasting reward. 

The Righteous One won it for us on the cross; and He gives it to us by the gift of faith; that’s what makes it the great and perfect reward it is; and makes us so happy and grateful for this this eternal gift!

Thanks be to God; it’s all His doing. To Him be the glory!

Until our time comes to be crowned with everlasting love and righteousness, let us, by the grace of God, with His help, walk with Christ now -- faithful to follow Him, joyful to serve Him, obedient to His commands, faithful to love our neighbor, faithful to forgive our enemy, and faithful to persevere in the Gospel, this eternal truth that gives us life and love without end,

And as we persevere in this saving truth, the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, who crowns us with glorious love and everlasting joy. Amen.