Great persecutions are raised against ministers, YAHUSHUA told HIS apostles whom HE sent out to preach:
Blessed are you when men shall persecute you. - Matthew 5:11
Take the prophets for an example of suffering affliction. - James 5:10
Not only is one a minister, but he's a piece of a martyr. The ministers of YAHUSHUA are HIS chosen vessels. As the best vessels of gold & silver passes through fire, so YHWH's chosen often pass through the fire of persecution. Neither the divinity of doctrine nor the sanctity of life can exempt one from persecution.
The reasons why persecution has fallen on HIS ministers:
1. They have their imperfections as well as others & lest they should be lifted up 'through the abundance of revelation.' YHWH lets loose some 'messenger of the enemy' to vex & persecute them. HE sees they have need of the flail to thresh off their flesh. The fire HE puts them in isn't to consume but to refine. Paul also had to be 'buffeted.'
2. HIS true, chosen ministers are MESSIAH's ensign-bearers to carry HIS colors, the captains of YHWH's host, the most shot at. 'I'm set for the defense of the Gospel.' (Philippians 1:17) The Greek meaning of this refers to a soldier set on the frontline of battle & has all the shots flying about him. The minister's work is to preach against sin, (unlike the false ones out there now, preaching the prosperity or feel-good message) every man's sin is his king to which he yields love & subjection. The work of the ministry is to divide between men & their lusts, to part them, no wonder if it meets with much opposition. When Paul preached against Diana, all the city was in an uproar. We preach against men's Dianas, those sins which bring them in pleasure & profit, thus causing an uproar. (Acts 19)
3. The ministers of YAHUSHUA come against the enemy's kingdom, therefore the old serpent spits his venom at them. If we tread on the devil's head, he'll bite us on the heel. The devil sets up several forts & garrisons in men's hearts - pride, ignorance & unbelief.
Persecution of the tongue is the most gentle persecution that can be expected. It's impossible to be a faithful preacher & not meet trials & oppositions.
It shows the corruption of men's nature, they're their own enemy. They persecute those who come to do them most good. What's the work of the ministry but to preach the soul-saving Truth? Yet they're angry at this. We don't hate the doctor who gives us medicine that makes us well; nor the surgeon who operates, because it's in order to cure. Why then should we quarrel with a true man of the MOST HIGH who gives us the pure Word?
We should encourage them in their work that they may be more vigorous. But instead, most give them gall & vinegar to drink while hating & persecuting them, dealing with them as Israel did with their prophets, wanting to hear from the false teachers, instead of the men of YHWH. The prophets would pray for them & perform miracles for them, yet Israel was continually arguing with him & ready to kill them.
Being the fury of the world is against YHWH's chosen, then you who fear YHWH had best pray much for them. 'Pray for us, that the Word of YHWH may have free course & that we may be delivered from unreasonable & wicked men.' (2Thessalonians 3:1, 2)
Let's see what suffering won't make us blessed.
(A) Suffering isn't reckoned for martyrdom, when we do things to ourselves. Augustine spoke of some in his time who were called Circumcellions, who from zeal of martyrdom, would cause themselves to suffer. These were accessory to their own death, like King Saul who fell on his own sword. We're bound by all lawful means to preserve our lives. When men run themselves into trouble, it's a cross of their own making & not from YHWH laying it on them. Even YAHUSHUA didn't suffer till HE was called to it.
(B) It's not to be counted as martyrdom when we suffer for our offenses. 'Let none of you suffer as an evildoer.' (1Peter 4:15) 'We indeed suffer justly.' (Luke 23:41) The thief on the cross didn't suffer as a martyr, he suffered as an evildoer! YAHUSHUA did take pity on him & he was saved, so he died a saint, but not a martyr. When men suffer by the hand of the magistrate for their uncleanness, blasphemies etc., these don't suffer persecution, but execution. They don't die as martyrs, but as malefactors, they suffer evil for being evil.
(C) Suffering won't make men blessed, when they suffer out of sinister respects or to keep up a faction. Paul implies that a man may give his body to be burned, yet go to hell. (1Corinthians 13:3) Ambitious men may sacrifice their lives to purchase fame, but these are the devil's martyrs.
NOTE: Persections & trials aren't these preachers on TV defending themselves from those calling them out on their false doctrine. It's not when someone goes through a divorce or files for bankruptcy either.
ALOT of crap that goes on in our lives isn't from the FATHER, a devil, or from others; it's just from ignorant choices we've made in our life!
So, what's the suffering persecution that makes us blessed & places the crown of martyrdom on us?
(A) Suffering for a good cause; such as for the Truth, we become the 'Blessed who suffer for righteousness' sake.' It's the cause that makes a martyr.
(B) Suffering with a good conscience; one may have a good cause but a bad conscience. He may suffer for 'righteousness' sake,' yet in an unrighteous way. Paul had a pure conscience. 'I've lived in all good conscience to this day.' (Acts 23:1) It's made the saints go as cheerfully to the stake as if going to a crown. A ship that's to sail on the waters must be preserved from leaking. When we're to sail on the waters of persecution, let's take heed that there's no leak of guilt in their conscience.
(C) When we have good ends in our suffering, that we may glorify YHWH, set a seal to the Truth & walk as YAHUSHUA walked. There's no question but a man may so far consult for his safety that if YHWH open a door so he may fly in time of persecution. (Matthew 10:23) When brought before kings & the case is such that either we must suffer or the Truth suffer, here's a clear call to suffering & this is reckoned for martyrdom.
(D) Suffering as a Believer: If any man suffer as a Believer, let him not be ashamed. - 1Peter 4:16
To suffer as a Believer is to suffer with such a spirit, which is:
Suffering with patience; Take the prophets for an example of suffering affliction & of patience. (James 5:10) A Believer should be willing to say, 'Shall I not drink the cup of martyrdom which my FATHER's given me?' There should be such a spirit of meekness in our suffering that it should be hard to say which is greater, our persecution or our patience. When Job had lost all, he kept the breastplate of innocence & the shield of patience. An impatient martyr is a solecism.
Suffering with courage; Courage is our armor of proof, it steels & animates us. Daniel's friends were of brave, heroic spirits. They didn't say to the king, 'We ought not serve your gods,' but 'We will not.' (Daniel 3:18) Neither Nebuchadnezzar's music nor his furnace could alter their resolution. This is to suffer as Believers; meek, yet resolute. The more the fire is blown, the more it flames, so it is with a true Believer. The more opposition we meet, the more zeal & courage flames forth. If it isn't the cause of YHWH we are embarked in, let's desert it! But if it's HIS cause & will bear us out, why not stand to it?
Suffering with cheerfulness. Patience is bearing the cross; cheerfulness is taking up the cross. YAHUSHUA's death was a freewill offering, as ours must be for HIM. Cheerfulness perfumes martyrdom & makes it the sacrifice of a sweet-smelling aroma to YHWH. Thus Moses suffered cheerfully: Moses, when he was come to years, chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of YHWH than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. - Hebrews 11:24, 25
Suffering wasn't so much his task as his choice. The cross wasn't so much imposed as embraced. This is to suffer as told, when we volunteer; we take up the cross cheerfully, joyfully. 'They departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.' (Acts 5:41) Or as it's more emphatic in the original, 'They rejoiced that they were so far graced as to be disgraced for the name of YAHUSHUA.' Tertullian says the early Believers took more comfort in their sufferings than in their deliverance, alot has changed today, huh? We should be joyful in sufferings because it's a great favor when YHWH honors a man to be a witness to His Truth. YAHUSHUA's marks in Paul's body were prints of glory. The saints wear their sufferings as ornaments. Never have any princes been so famous for their victories as the martyrs for their sufferings.
Jason Desmond
Ambassador of HIS Kingdom