Preached at Church in Pakistan through Streaming Video on October 1st 2021
Translated by Pastor Rav Daniel
Good afternoon and greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom has conquered all things and has prepared for us a place in the new heavens and new earth. I come in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. I’m a messenger and servant of the Lord Most High. I come to you bearing a message of truth and encouragement. May it be refreshment to your soul and strength to your spirit.
The message today comes from, Luke 6:20-23. These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on the account of the Son of Man!
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”
When you look around the world, who do you believe in blessed?
The world tells us, the rich are blessed.
The world tells us, those who eat well and are full are blessed.
The world tells us, that those who have comfortable lives are blessed.
The world tells us, that those who are loved by everyone are blessed.
Today, Jesus is speaking to you with a hammer in hand smashing the lies of the world.
Jesus tells us, that those who are poor are blessed.
Jesus tells us, that those who are hungry are blessed.
Jesus tells us, that those who weep now are blessed.
Jesus tells us, that those who experience hatred in the world, because of faith in Jesus are blessed.
How can this be so?
How can poor be more blessed than rich?
How can hungry be more blessed than full?
How can weeping be more blessed than comfort?
How can experiencing trials and tribulations in this life be better than an easy life?
It’s because, the world doesn’t have the hope of the new heavens and new earth. The world is going to enjoy everything in it. The world says, I will have my sin. I will have my ways. I will have my enjoyment. I will do as I wish. I will live my life the way I want.
But you and I, we as Christians, we realized that we are no longer our own. We belong to Christ. We belong to Jesus, the one who died on the cross for us and paid for our sins. We live in this world, no longer part of the world, but citizens of Heaven. We are CITIZENS OF HEAVEN. This is why, our hope isn’t in this life. Our fullest joy isn’t in this life. Our greatest feast isn’t in this life, but in the next. The next life, with Jesus Christ in the new heavens and new earth.
Because we have this hope, we can endure the sufferings of today.
Because we have this hope, we can go farther than we imagined.
Because we have this hope, we will be with Jesus Christ in Paradise.
But it doesn’t end there, from our passage, the last sentence says, Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Some of you may think, this suffering is for nothing, but that isn’t true.
Jesus say, “YOUR REWARD IS GREAT IN HEAVEN.”
YOUR EXPERIENCE OF POVERTY,
YOUR EXPERIENCE OF HUNGER,
YOUR EXPERIENCE OF WEEPING,
YOUR EXPERIENCE OF BEING HATED BY THE WORLD.
THEY WILL NOT GO VOID.
THEY WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
THEY WILL NOT BE IGNORED.
JESUS CHRIST PROMISED US THAT WE WILL HAVE A REWARD.
YOU WILL HAVE A REWARD FOR THE PRESENT SUFFERING.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A WASTE OF TIME, BUT IT WILL BECOME A CROWN ON YOUR HEAD AT THE DAY THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST COME BACK.
There are those in this room, who don’t believe in Jesus Christ yet, and are suffering. You must ask yourself this question, what is the purpose of your suffering. The answer will be, there is no purpose. It is true, because without God, without faith in Jesus Christ and salvation in him, there is no hope for tomorrow, there is no hope after you die. You will suffer and die and that will be the end, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If when you hear this message, you sense in your heart that Jesus Christ is truly the son of God and you have this faith that he is the messiah, invite you to come and pray with me after this message and ask for the prayer of salvation.
There are those in this room, who do believe in Jesus Christ and are suffering. You may ask yourself this question, what is the purpose of my suffering? The answer will be, we aren’t citizens of this world, of course the world will hate us, but my God has prepared a place for me, a home, in the New Heavens and New Earth. Whatever suffering I have now is nothing compared to what God prepared for me. But that isn’t all, God will remember my suffering, he will see my affliction and on the day he calls us to our new home, we will be given something extra. We will be given a reward for our suffering. A reward that is eternal and never fading. Always there and always recognized as one who love Christ even when the pressures of the world pressed down upon us.
Therefore, Let us all have faith in Jesus Christ, hope in his second coming and suffer joyfully as we know the reward is SO GREAT IN HEAVEN!!!