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Adventist Pastor Severely Beaten, Churches Vandalized

Belgrade, Serbia ....ANN
Seventh-day Adventist pastor Josip Tikvicki was seriously beaten on
April 15 in front of the Adventist Church in the city of Zrenjanin,
northeast of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
In the last 10 days eight Adventist churches were targeted by what is
being viewed as an "orchestrated campaign against a religious
minority" in a predominantly Orthodox country.
Dr. Radisa Antic, president of the Adventist Church in the South-East
European area said, "This, however, is not an isolated incident In
the last 10 days our central church in Belgrade was stoned twice,
along with the church in 4 other cities. Obviously these are not
coincidences, but rather orchestrated attacks by some organizations
targeting religious minorities.
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3/25

Persecuted for righteousness sake

The final Beatitude (v. 10)

does not say Blessed are
those who are
persecuted
But only those who are

persecuted for
righteousness sake.

Many people suffer

persecution but a varied
number of reasons, many
of them needlessly.
The Christian however
suffers persecution
because of his stand for
right living.

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4/25

Maturia - Greek word is the same

for the term witness & martyr

Before the end of the first

century, the Greek word
for witness (marturia)
and the word for martyr
has become the same word.
This was because in that
time, the man who was a
witness had every chance
of becoming a martyr.
Due to the Roman practice
of emperor worship, he
would have been killed for
his faith

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5/25

Jesus was startlingly honest with his

disciples
Jesus was startlingly
honest with his
disciples He asked
them to count the cost
of discipleship Luke
14:28.
He did not induce them
to follow him on false
pretences
Instead He left them in
no doubt that they
would suffer if they
were to follow him.

Matthew 16:24 - To follow

Jesus necessarily involved
taking up the cross.
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6/25

Jesus prophesized that His disciples

will be brought before the court

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Matthew 10:16-22 Jesus

disciples would be brought
before magistrates and
hated by all men because of
their faithfulness to him.

John 16:2 The day would

even come when those who
killed a Christian think that
they are rendering service
to God.
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Reasons leading to inevitable persecution

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Christians have a completely

differently moral standard
which stands in opposition to
that of the sinful world we live
in.
Those who exhibit genuine
transparent righteousness
stands out of the crowd and
make others uncomfortable.
Genuine righteousness
condemns by implication and
people lash out in retaliation
because of this.
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The dual responses to a Christian

Through righteous living, the

Christian either draw people
to them or repel them.
John 15:18-20 If the world
hates you, keep in mind that it
hated me first. If you
belonged to the world, it
would have loved you.if they
persecuted me, they will
persecute you also.
2 Timothy 3:12 All who
desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will suffer persecution.

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It is not what we say that makes others

uncomfortable

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It is not that Christian go

about criticizing others or they
are consciously self-righteous
and superior, displaying the
holier than thou art attitude.
Rather the Christians presence
and his way of life becomes the
conscience to his society.
Their life is a reminder of what
life ought to be
People want to silence their
conscience by persecuting
them because their way of life
is seen as threat to their social
set-up.
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Family are divided sometimes because

of our faith

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An undeniable effect
of Christianity is that,
sometimes it makes a
division in the family
Christians are
persecuted by their
own family members.
This was prophesied
by Jesus. Matthew
10:34-37 and a
mans enemies will be
those of his own
household (v. 36)
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The Christians first defence

against persecution

The Christian never

thought of using force
to meet persecution.
Rather they resort to 2
weapons
The first weapon is
his/her Christian life.
The Christian shows
himself so loyal and so
useful a citizen and so
good and conscientious a
servant, that the
slanders of the
persecutors are silenced.

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12/25

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13/25

"Make Yourselves More Prominent in Society,"

Russian Leader Tells Adventists.
Moscow, Russia. ANN]
------------------------------------------------------Mr. Lukovnikov, the director of religious affairs for
Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia urged Miss Irina
Supryaga, regional director of communication for
the Adventist Church that small church
denominations make themselves more prominent in
society to avoid being labeled as sects.

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Cont.

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Lukovnikov was discussing a biased newspaper article

against Adventists that recently appeared in the
Siberian city of Bratsk. The problem, he said, is that
newspaper editors and the public are poorly informed
about the Adventist Church.

"What charitable activities are [you] doing for our

region?" he asked. "We need to be aware of these
activities and cooperate more closely with you.
Proclaim yourselves more often and more boldly."
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The Christian church should

break the
inertia
of silence
that
distances us
from citizens.
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16/25

Brazilian Government Honors Pathfinders

Brasilia,Brazil....[Suse Xavier/ASN/ANN

Staff]

The Brazilian House of Representatives gave

special recognition on April 26 to the
country's Pathfinder movement, a Seventhday Adventist organization dedicated to
assisting the social, spiritual, and physical
development of young people. During the
event at the Plenary Assembly Hall, seven
politicians gave speeches thanking the
Adventist Church for the work of
Pathfinders in Brazil.
The event was broadcast on several local
television channels, including the Adventist
station ADSAT/Novo Tempo (New Time).

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Produced by
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Cont...

In June 2000, the Adventist Church received

recognition from the House of Representatives for
services rendered to the Brazilian Nation.
In May 2000, the House of Representatives honored
the Adventist Publishing House, and, in 1998, it
recognized Adventist education.
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The Christians second defence

against persecution

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The second weapon which

the Christian used in the
face of persecution is
apologetics (The defence
of the Bible).
Christians must ever be
ready to give an answer
for his/her faith.
They must know what they
believes and why they
believes - that we do
indeed have a solid basis
for our faith and actions
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The importance of the 8th Beatitude

Jesus changed the 3rd

person form of the
Beatitudes (Blessed are
THOSE v.10) to the direct
address of the 2nd person
(Blessed are YOU (v.11)
The implication here is that
every Christian who lives out
his Christian life faithfully
can expect persecution even
those he/she does not
welcome it.
It is no longer happening in
somebodys ball park but
right in yours as well.
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20/25

Persecuted for righteousness sake =

Persecuted for Jesus sake

The phrase because

of righteousness

(Matt 5:10) parallels

because of me
(Matt. 5:11)

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This confirms that

the Christians life of
righteousness is an
imitation of Jesus and
it is this which brings
about persecution.
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Beware when people speak well of you

Luke 6:26 Woe unto you

when all men
shall speak well
of you! For so
did their fathers
to the false
prophets.
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22/25

Persecution is an opportunity to witness

The light shines brighter when the darkness is greater.

Persecution is an opportunity to demonstrate loyalty shows that we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.
It shows that we do not shrink from showing it is God
whom we love and how much we love Him.

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Reward of the Persecuted

- the Kingdom of Heaven

The final Beatitude

(v10) has the same
reward as with the
first Beatitude (v3)
Both promise that
those who are
persecuted for
righteousness sake
will have the reward
of the kingdom of
heaven. Matt. 5:10,
12

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