Persevere through persecution as those counted worthy of the kingdom of God!

125 years ago, L. Frank Baum wrote the children’s novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. The written story and film have captured hearts and minds for generations. One way to summarize the story is that a young Kansas farm girl named Dorothy perseveres down a dangerous path to get home, while finding and bringing others in need along with her. An even shorter summary could be that Dorothy perseveres through trials until she reaches home.

If we understand Dorothy’s journey in that way, then we can say she is like King David. David’s life could be summarized as a young shepherd boy from Bethlehem who perseveres through trials until he reaches heaven. Early on in his life David was chosen to be the King of Israel, but he was persecuted by the still living and reigning King Saul whom God had rejected for his sins. David was on the run for his life for years because of King Saul’s rage. Once Saul had died and David was King, he experienced great blessings, which tempted David into staying in his palace at the time when kings go off to war leading to his adultery with Bathsheba, conspiring to murder her husband (also his good friend) and the death of their first child. Yet, David persevered because his greatest love and confidence was God. So, we hear in our Old Testament reading from 1 Chronicles 29 that God blessed David and Israel in their preparations for David’s son Solomon to build the Temple in Jerusalem. It was a historic day for the people of Israel as they had amassed a fortune in gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, valuable stone like marble and precious gems for the Temple to be built. David offered a prayer of praise to God for the collection and included the wise request that God keep their hearts loyal,

17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 LORD, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

The Temple and worship of the one true God would be a magnet for persecution. Israel’s loyalty was tested many times by threatening foreign powers and unfortunately, they often caved to the persecution.

Persecution follows God’s people, but they do not always cave to it. In our New Testament reading from 2 Thessalonians 1, we read a letter from

1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul and his companions wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica because they faced heavy persecution for their faith. In fact, Paul had to leave less than a month after arriving for fear of his life. Facing this severe persecution, we read this description of their perseverance,

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

These Christians needed this encouragement. They had welcomed the preaching and teaching of Paul and his companions. The work God was doing in, among and through them was evident in their love for one another. So great was their living faith, it was being reported elsewhere as an encouragement to other congregations and reason for thanksgiving to God. They were like Dorothy and Toto going down the yellow brick road picking up companions and facing wicked foes working to steal their faith in the blood of Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. But for all the good God had done among them, the Thessalonians lived a nightmare scenario. So, they needed encouragement as getting lost on their way home would mean certain death and hell.

Persecution follows us as God’s people. Life is not a dream; we endure real trials. God’s protective angels for us are not cute munchkins nor are the devil and demons a band of flying monkeys led by a wicked witch defeated by water, well actually they are by the waters of our baptism. At the end of the road we will all meet God who is very real and very powerful; God is not behind a curtain playing a game with our lives. Our God is heavily invested in our lives, which means the unbelieving world will be against us as we read Jesus’ words in John 15,

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

Jesus was severely persecuted. A description of what he would face is found in Isaiah 53,

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

He knew his life would be like this, but he kept to the path all the way to the cross trusting it would mean our entrance into the kingdom of God. We expect to be hated for following Jesus, but the forewarning does not keep us from struggling to stay on the path and trust in God.

When we are persecuted for our faith the yellow brick road fades away as we get lost in a forest of fear. When we are forbidden to talk about our faith at work, school, in public or online, we grow silent and stop searching for ways to share Jesus with others. When we hold back saying something disrespectful, hateful, perverse, envious or slanderous unlike our peers only to face exclusion, we let slip wicked words that will bring us back into the group. When our love as defined in Galatians 5 as,

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.

is seen as weakness, we quickly shift to selfish moves that seek our good and best interests rather than serving the needs of others at our expense. When we are persecuted for our faith, temptation feels like relief. And we may feel relief giving into temptation, but the guilt, shame and separation from God have their end in an eternal nightmare in hell.

We have been counted worthy to suffer for the kingdom of God. The suffering and persecution we endure as Christians from the unbelieving world and the devil happen because God has chosen us to be his people as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1,

5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

God has judged you to be a member of his kingdom and our ability to persevere comes from the greeting in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians,

2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We hear and read these words often, so they can become common and no more impactful than an emoji. They are equivalent to neither. The words “grace” and “peace” that Paul used so often in his letters bring persecution because they have power. God’s grace is the unchangeable love that comes from the heart of God to you. His love endured rejection by humanity, so that you could be accepted by God. Jesus was betrayed, tortured, abandoned and crucified so that your sins would never be counted against you. Jesus loved you so much that he gave up his right to punish you by enduring your punishment. God loved you so much that he gave you new life and faith so that Jesus’ good and righteous life would be your permanent record. And the peace you have with God cannot be broken by society or Satan. God has sent his Holy Spirit to live inside you, so that there is a closeness and harmony with God no one sees or experiences, but you. The suffering, persecution, trials and difficult seasons that characterize life now end, but the peace you have and will live in in heaven endures. God gave Paul these words to write so that you would know God’s judgment for you is forgiven and righteous by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace with God powers your perseverance through persecution. Stand firm in the grace of God because the blood of Jesus is far better than ruby slippers. Like Dorothy, we do have a long road to travel before we are home, so Paul encourages us to pray as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1,

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.

Paul reminds us that we have been saved by the grace of God. But the peace we have with God does not mean inactivity as if sitting at peace in a spa, on the beach or in a deer blind. We have been called to activity, good and loving activity prompted by our faith. Jesus encouraged this activity in our Gospel reading from Luke 17,

1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

These examples of not leading others into sin, watching how we live, forgiving one another and having a humble attitude characterize our Christian lives and are worth doing though they bring persecution. Paul opens our eyes to the big picture in 2 Thessalonians 1,

12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

On Judgment Day, you will be with Christ. What he has done through you will give him glory attesting to his goodness. And what he has done for you in saving you to bring you to his side will be your glory as you stand with him. In both, God is praised, and we are given relief from persecution as the broken world is left behind. Gathering as a local congregation around the Word of God and the sacraments, getting to know one another, praying for and encouraging one another all help us persevere through persecution.

125 years ago, L. Frank Baum wrote the children’s novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. For generations we have watched Dorothy persevere through trials until she reached home. Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians as an encouragement to Christians facing persecution for their faith. Turning away from God for relief from persecution tempted them as it does us, but that temporary relief leads to eternal torture. The grace and peace we have from God give us endurance, and while we persevere, we get to bring others along with us. Our final relief will come when we are standing with our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. Until then, we pray God would be with us as we persevere through persecution as those counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Amen.