Our study of God's Kingdom of the heavens continues as we look at the verses 10 to 18 in the book of Mathew, chapter 5. These scriptures tell us we are blessed when we are persecuted for righteousness sake and when we are reproached and lied against with evil speaking for the sake of Christ. We are here confronted again with a definite change of mindset: how do we rejoice in such negative situations? This is one of the areas where we see religious spirits have established certain strongholds in the life of believers. We shall examine persecution, suffering and tribulation in this study to lay aside any wrong inclinations in our thoughts. All the words we are considering have a lot in common. Tribulation means pressure, to be afflicted, suffer anguish, be burdened and experience trouble. To suffer is to experience pain, especially emotionally. To be persecuted means to be hunted down, pursued: a fleeing animal is a picture of a persecuted creature when the Greek word is understood. There are opposing kingdoms: the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness. They are definitely contrary to each other that you cannot obey both masters at the same time. Satan, the adversary, uses intimidation, condemnation and all manner of fears to attack our convictions and service towards God.

Satan is a liar, so he uses lies to deceive so he can destroy us. He is afraid of us coming to know the truth about his defeat at the cross of Christ, so we do not boldly proclaim the victory we all have in Christ to others. He uses his fear to cause us to be afraid. He gives what he has to offer: fear, lies, condemnation and hopelessness.

We need to have an attitude of faith and victory with understanding to ensure we defeat the tactics of Satan in our lives. Our attitude to suffering should be positive, as we understand that we are called to fellowship with the sufferings of Christ. He suffered as He went on with His Father’s business. We are not to suffer sickness and diseases; He did not have that kind of suffering. 1 Peter 4, we are admonished to have the same mind as He had, He suffered as He died to sin, we do, too. When we deny the flesh, there is an element of suffering involved. When we live in obedience to God, we encounter sufferings too. When we are opposed, we encounter some suffering too. We need to know he is the pattern-Son for all other sons. He has become our example as we identify with Him who is dead to sin. Christ is coming for a Church that is full of His glory and not full of sin as we see the church today.

James says we count it joy, Paul says I rejoice in tribulation and went on to say rejoice even when things were bad for him. The following verses speak volumes:

Phil. 1:28, Heb. 2:14, John 16:33. Learn the right attitude and actions when you face trying times. If God has not given you the spirit of fear, where is this fear coming from? Fear attacks faith and faith overcomes the world. The greater one is inside you if you are a child of God. 1 John 4:4, 5:4. We are more than conquerors through His love for us, Romans 8.

To be salt is to recognize that you have what it takes to stop the decadence that is enveloping the world right now. The light leads the way and our good works are when we let God be seen in us. Glory means God's manifestation. For people to see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven means they will recognize that God is at work in us. It is time for the sons of God to be made manifest. So we need to maintain the victory we have in Christ as we live by faith in the Word of God. You are a winner not a loser; a victor not a victim, all because of Christ in your life.

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Rev. Kola Ewuosho