for the many of you who have been asking and praying...
carrie is still in the icu, and had her breathing tube replace by a tracheatomy tube. She is still pretty heavily sedated because her breathing is abnormal with the trach tube when she's alert. She doesn't have any sensation of air intake or output and that increases her stress and labor. Last monday was 14 days since the accident, and when the doctors anticipated her bones beginning to mend. When she has been brought out of the medication, she has been alert, but with no memory of the trauma. Yet, she has accurate memory of all other contexts of her life, which is a praise. Her church family is doing a wonderful job of meeting her family's needs, but she still requires much prayer. Thanks and keep at it!
11/16/2002
11/14/2002
pics are in...
just got cotter's pics, and kelsi's from Tuesdays. and Kaylyn's a from school a couple of weeks ago. we'll be mailing them out in time for holidays.
my children are beautiful.
thank you Kelli for being beautiful and ensuring our children wouldn't look like me.
my children are beautiful.
thank you Kelli for being beautiful and ensuring our children wouldn't look like me.
Signs of the Impending Apocalypse #4
From inpassing.org:
just a couple of thoughts on this *brilliant* dialogue:
1. Cats are stupid. Always have been, always will be. As a child, I have many fond memories of counting upon my kitty's stupidity for repeated hours of relatively non-violent entertainment.
2. People, often, are more stupid. Just last night, while "stress-testing" the remote control, watched a segment of some cat "talent show," where the three finalilst felines all refused to perform for the judges, and the winner was selected from a video demonstration rather than a live performance. The contest promoters still awarded the cat $10,000 -- for doing nothing (although it did perform -- on video -- the amazing trick of drinking from a water cooler.) Kitty, if you want to impress me, you've got to do just a little more than meeting your basic needs to keep from dying from thirst.
3. I agree with Jay Leno, dressing up animals in clothing truly is a 'pet peeve.' what is this cat saying? "kill me. kill me now."
4. why would you want a pet that looks like this?
or really feels this way about you?
5. A possible solution
6. when cat lovers go too far.
7. A final word: From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. -- Romans 1:20-23 (proof of this judgment is found here.)
"I think general stupidity, as opposed to fatal stupidity, is harder to evolutionize out though. So you've got some dim cats, and some bright cats, but no cats that run into walls until they're comatose, or jump out windows into traffic."
"I suppose you're right, evolution's slow. And if we did wind up with a breed of sentient cats, we probably couldn't feed them cat food anymore."
--A girl and a guy walking on Oxford st
just a couple of thoughts on this *brilliant* dialogue:
1. Cats are stupid. Always have been, always will be. As a child, I have many fond memories of counting upon my kitty's stupidity for repeated hours of relatively non-violent entertainment.
2. People, often, are more stupid. Just last night, while "stress-testing" the remote control, watched a segment of some cat "talent show," where the three finalilst felines all refused to perform for the judges, and the winner was selected from a video demonstration rather than a live performance. The contest promoters still awarded the cat $10,000 -- for doing nothing (although it did perform -- on video -- the amazing trick of drinking from a water cooler.) Kitty, if you want to impress me, you've got to do just a little more than meeting your basic needs to keep from dying from thirst.
3. I agree with Jay Leno, dressing up animals in clothing truly is a 'pet peeve.' what is this cat saying? "kill me. kill me now."
4. why would you want a pet that looks like this?
or really feels this way about you?
5. A possible solution
6. when cat lovers go too far.
7. A final word: From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. -- Romans 1:20-23 (proof of this judgment is found here.)
11/11/2002
water? we don't need no stinkin' water!
Got this from my dad in the email today...
The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) as a combat vessel carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men. This was sufficient to last 6 months of sustained operations. She carried no evaporators. However, let it be noted that according to her log:
Nothing quite like the sight of 475 drunk Americans storming across the ocean, fighting with a clear sense of purpose.
The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) as a combat vessel carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men. This was sufficient to last 6 months of sustained operations. She carried no evaporators. However, let it be noted that according to her log:
On July 1798, the USS Constitution set sail from Boston. She left with 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of fresh water, 7,400 cannonshot, 11,600 pounds of black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum. Her mission: To destroy and harass English shipping.
Making Jamaica on 6 October, she took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum. Then she headed for the Azores, arrivingon 12 November. She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.
On 18 November she set sail for England. In the ensuing days she defeated five British men-of-war and captured and scuttled 12 English merchantmen, salvaging only the rum. By 26January her powder and shot was exhausted. Unarmed, she made a night raid up the Firth of Clyde. Her landing party captured a whiskey distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons aboard by dawn. Then she headed home.
The USS Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February, 1799 with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum, no wine, no whiskey and 38,600 gallons of stagnant water.
Nothing quite like the sight of 475 drunk Americans storming across the ocean, fighting with a clear sense of purpose.
Signs of the Impending Apocalypse #2
From Patent of the Week, I give you...
I know nothing soothes my 8-month old daughter to sleep that the whirring mechanical hand that beats her on the rear each night. Except for when she turns around in her sleep. Then we are awoken to screams. Although, as a positive, the machine doubles as a disciplining tool for our older children, simply by cranking up the power. Thanks to the Ronco Baby Beater, we've regained over half the time formerly given to pesky parenting responsibilities.
11/10/2002
Blessed are the persecuted
Though it was not planned, I don't believe that it is by coincidence that God determined to bring us to this spot in Scripture on the same day that American Christians have designated to pray for the persecuted church in the world. Today, as we spend time together on the final beautiful attitude called for by Christians, this beatitude of blessing for those who are persecuted, we find that persecution against Christians is as prevalent as ever. But before we get into some examples of this, and before we spend the majority of our time together to understand this promise of blessing more fully, let's see what Jesus says specifically:
We will look closely at this promise very shortly, but before we do, I want to take just a few moments to share some of the experiences that are taking place in our world, to our brothers and sisters, united under the common banner of Jesus Christ.
In fact according to one web site , Since the death of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, 43,000,000 christians have become martyrs. Over 50% of these were in the last century alone. More than 200 million christians face persecution each day - 60% are children. Every day over 300 are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.
So truly, to read these words that promise blessing in the face of persecution, many Christians on our side of the globe struggle to understand what this promise means, much less whether or not we as individuals can identify with it.
So, as we have in the past, we will begin by examining the audience of this promise. Matthew 5:10 says "blessed are those who are persecuted." Let's take a few moments to understand what it means to be persecuted. The term literally in the Greek means to be put to flight. But for better understanding, as we examining the following verses, we see several categories explained for our benefit.
The first category of the persecuted is those who are made to suffer. Now, as we go through these categories, I'm going to illustrate on an ongoing basis just how nice the western church has it. As we've seen in the examples given to start our time together today, we see real, every day examples of the suffering imposed upon the church in the persecuted world. For another perspective, look at what the apostle Paul endured:
Now, this is not to say that we don't have this category of persecution taking place in America - just a few years ago, we witnessed a madman storm into a Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth and kill several Christians. But the widespread persecution categorized by suffering isn't experienced in an ongoing basis here. So how do we relate to this category of persecution?
Look at matters on an individual basis. Are you someone who has been punished or penalized or injured for being a Christian? Have you been fired, or denied a promotion, or had something taken away from you because you lived your faith out loud? This is what it means to suffer for your faith.
The second category of the persecuted is those who are scolded for being Christ-followers. The word 'reviled' literally means "upbraided." In practical terms, we see this manifestation of persecution taking place all over the Muslim world where Christians are forced to recant their faith in Christ, or face punishment. Not long ago, there was a report of a young girl living in a predominantly Muslim country, and she and her older brother were both Christian. When encountered by a group of Islamic men, they were told to recant. When the brother refused, he was killed. They then turned to the girl, and told her to recant her faith in Christ. When she too refused, rather than killing her, they stabbed her in the legs, ripped long gashes in her thighs and calves, and poured gasoline into her open wounds.
In America, we have seen this same type of persecution. Oh, how still fresh in our minds is the chilling account given that the sick boys who terrorized Columbine High School asked Cassie Bernall if she was a Christian? They didn't force her to recant, but you know very well that this precious young lady was looking at the barrel of a gun, and knew that to answer yes would come at the cost of her very life. And that was the answer she bravely gave.
More often than not, though, this sort of persecution is given in a much more subtle manner, like when Peter stood warming himself at the fire while his Savior was in a kangaroo court. Three times Peter was asked, "you're not a Christ-follower, are you?" Basically, they were inferring that surely he wouldn't be a part of that "ridiculous movement." And three times, Peter buckled in the face of persecution. We discover later, though, that Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was willing to pay the price of His life to be identified as a follower of Jesus, the Christ.
The third category of persecution is those who are slandered for their faith in Jesus. In Romans 3, Paul is making an argument that our sinful nature demonstrates the righteousness of God. And in that argument, he says in verse 8, "And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come''? as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say." Here, Paul is identifying that some people in Rome were maliciously misreporting the doctrine of the Christians, in an attempt to discredit them. We look historically and see that the Emporer Nero is reported to have slandered Christians, by blaming them for the fires that ravaged Rome, thus bringing about widespread violence upon them. Slander is a form of persecution that maligns the name of Christ unjustly through the inaccurate statements attributed to or on Christians - individually or corporately. This is what it means when they "say all kinds of evil against you falsely."
The fourth category of persecution is those who are slighted for their faith in Jesus. Now, by 'slighted,' I have a couple of applications. One meaning means to be overlooked, or passed by, simply because you are a Christian. Another meaning is that the living expressions of your faith are explained away or dismissed as religious rants. One example I have of this type of 'slighting' is when Peter and the apostles began preaching to the assembly Acts 2, many of the Jews said to them, "oh, they're just full of new wine." We have seen this 'slight' reproduced in numerous ways. A couple of years ago, Peter Jennings came out with a pseudo-documentary on the life of Jesus, and attempted to explain away all of his miracles. We see people all the time healed by God, and people want to explain it away naturally or scientifically. The reality is, the fact that anyone can be healed at all, using no medications or procedures or many, is a testimony to the reality of the power of God. There is no healing, no cure to any illness or malady if God Himself did not ordain it to be so. And many times, even when science cannot explain it, when a Christian praises God for a healing, they'll be subjected to scorn, slander, and slighting for doing so.
The fifth category of persecution is those who are stalked for their faith in Jesus. Again, this is a category that is largely not experienced in our western culture. But this type of persecution is when Christians are individually and corporately hunted down because they are Christians. This is identifiable in the mass starvation of Christians in Africa, the mass murders of Christians in China, in Africa, and in Europe. This is when Christians are given no rest, no quarter, and are pressured, oppressed, and in many circumstances, exterminated, simply because they have identified Jesus as their Savior.
So if these are the categories of persecution, can we in America claim this promise for ourselves, well, not for the most part. But it doesn't keep us from trying. I hear and read all the time that Christians here want to wear a badge of persecution. Unfortunately, I fear that the badge they wear dishonors those who have truly earned it. In light of this, I share with you three conditions that have to be present for persecution to truly be such.
First, one has to be persecuted for righteousness. This means there has to be a reason for the persecution, and that reason is because you are reflecting and demonstrating God's holiness, God's love, God's righteousness. It's not appropriate nor is it accurate simply to attribute a negative experience to persecution if you are not behaving righteously, and if the persecution is a direct result of righteous behavior. That means if somebody is picking on you, before you start crying out that you are being persecuted, the first thing you ought to do is do a self-inventory. If you have been sinful, you can't claim this blessing. If you are being in your flesh, this promise is not for you. And, most subtly, if you are being self-righteous, and not righteous in Christ, than you certainly can't claim that you are being persecuted.
Second, the persecution has to be wrong. God's word says it has to be brought against you falsely. Too many times, we've had televangelists come out, standing behind God's pulpit saying, "somebody is slandering me. They're accusing me of cavorting with other women. I've never done such a thing." Then, months later, these same men come out, blubbering like imbeciles, snot dripping off their noses, and they admit that it was all correct after all. Friends, it is not persecution if you are actually doing that which is being said about you. If the fact is that you are guilty, God very well may be using your enemies to bring you under judgment so you will repent and return to fellowship with Him. You can only claim persecution if, when the accusation comes, your conscience is clean before the Lord.
Third, the persecution has to be representative in its nature. This is what I mean. Look at what God's word says - it has to occur for His sake. You are only being persecuted when people strike out at you because you are God's representative here on earth. If people malign you or are mean to you just because they think you are a jerk, then it just may not qualify. But, if you are simply minding God's business, faithfully serving, faithfully worshipping, faithfully abiding in Christ, and you still are being attacked or assaulted, then you may actually be a recipient of persecution.
Before I close today with the assurances, I want to give you an assurance of a different type. You won't find space for this on the outline, but it's important enough that you ought to make room for it somewhere on your notes and write it down.
Here's the assurance - If you are faithful, then rest assured, you will face persecution at some point in your life. You may not have to ever face an experience where you are called to make a choice between living the comforts of this life, or of giving away as a testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but God's word says that persecution is a realistic expectation for every believer. Look at the following statements:
You see, this pretty much takes the guesswork out of it. Persecution is not a variable in the Christian life. If you walk with God, it will be a walk of affliction.
Why, then, do so many Christians never experience the blessing of persecution? Why can so many of us sitting together today say, "Pastor, my Christian walk has never been like that. Nobody's ever been cruel to me. Nobody's ever challenged me. In fact, my Christian life has been so easy, that I don't think many people even know I am a Christian."
Therein lies the problem. We are fat, lazy, apathetic, lukewarm Christians. To too many people, the term Christian just identifies where you go to church. To too few people, the term Christian means "Christ-follower." Look at the first church - The first disciples understood what it meant to be Christ-followers:
The pattern is set. If you will sell out for the Lord, you will pay the price. One reason so many of us have never had to pay the price is because we are so incredibly comfortable that we've never left the pew. We don't know what it means to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Oh sure, we've done the word studies. You've heard the sermons. You've talked about it in Bible study, but you've never done it. But I promise you this, the moment you set your mind to obedience, the moment you commit to follow the resurrected Lord, you will be set on a different path. And that new path will include abandonment by the world, isolation, rejection, abuse, and persecution.
The United States has more Christians than anywhere else in the world, by percentage of our population; yet, we are not Christians of the same ilk as the brothers and sisters who went before us. We don't go anywhere. We don't do anything. Our Christian experience rarely transcends the four walls of our church. Do you want to know how pathetic it has become? Foreign countries are now sending Christian missionaries here, recognizing that we are doing the job. And praise God for them! We need to step up to the front of the line, pick up the gospel from the hands of our brothers and sisters who have fallen before us, and carry out the great commission faithfully to our Jerusalem, to our Judea, to our Samaria, to the utter ends of the earth for the glory of His name! We must do it, because that is what it means to be a Christian. This is the opportunity at hand, to be persecuted for His name's sake!
And here is the assurance for all those who in humility of spirit find themselves in that category. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. Does this look familiar? It should. Look at the first beatitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Remember now? So what's the connection? The only way you will be persecuted is if you are poor in spirit. The only way you will follow Jesus to a place where you can expect persecution is if you are willing to be empty of all pride and follow Jesus where His Holy Spirit leads you. And when you come to that place, spiritually and physically, yours will be the kingdom of heaven.
Today, to close, I just want to illustrate that this promise is offered in three phases. First - you have the assurance of the kingdom of heaven in the here and now, in the face of persecution. Remember Stephen, when facing the vicious stoning of the Jews in Jerusalem, looked up and saw the Savior Himself. Countless testimonies of Roman persecution detail how saint after saint was able to face a horrible, savage death because of the presence of Jesus Christ in the final moments of their life. Remember that John 14 tells us that heaven is being in the presence of Jesus Christ forever. By the grace of God, when facing terrible persecution, God has chosen to mercifully reveal Himself to those who have paid the ultimate price for His name's sake. To those, He grants the ultimate gift.
Next, we have the assurance of the kingdom of heaven in the millennium, for those who face persecution. Revelation 20:4 promises this:
Finally, the reward of the kingdom of God is eternal. It doesn't matter what is taken away from you in this life. Nothing can separate you from the love of God, and a life given for His name's sake is a life promised eternal blessing.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:10-12
We will look closely at this promise very shortly, but before we do, I want to take just a few moments to share some of the experiences that are taking place in our world, to our brothers and sisters, united under the common banner of Jesus Christ.
In Vietnam: Recently, police beat pastor To in front of a tribal village where he was witnessing. After his arrest, To told a judge he was innocent and explained he should not have been beaten. But instead of being released, To was sentenced to three years in a labor camp. When his wife heard the sentence and complained, police burned the family's Bibles. Police throughout Vietnam are trying to frighten believers into closing their churches. Recently, as a scare tactic, police took away some Christians' vehicles, farm animals, and home-registration papers. (http://www.gospelcom.net/bibleleague/persecuted/pe_vie.htm)
In China: Members of "house" churches in China have been disappearing in recent months. Around 70 Christians have either disappeared or been arrested since June. This summer's crack down on covert Christians occurred because leaders in China's Communist party are preparing for an important national congress this fall. The leaders allegedly want to stop any political or religious demonstrations from happening during the congress. At China's December 2001 national religious-affairs conference, President Jiang Zemin stated, ''Religion must never be allowed when it opposes the direction of the party or the socialist system, or destroys national reunification or ethnic unity.'' (http://www.gospelcom.net/bibleleague/persecuted/pe_chi.htm)
In Egypt: Muslims in Al-Kosheh accused Christians of poisoning the water supply and planning to attack Muslim neighborhoods. A small group of believers responded vocally, and a heated argument erupted. Riots broke out. The mobs grew violent. Twenty-one Christians were killed. Police investigation concluded that the only Muslim who died during the conflict was shot accidentally. (http://www.gospelcom.net/bibleleague/persecuted/pe_egy.htm)
In Pakistan - Pakistani Christians have continued to come under attack from Islamic militants. On September 25, two armed men entered the premises of the Peace and Justice Institute in Karachi, separated the Christians from the Muslims and proceeded to shoot eight Christians in the head at point blank range. Seven died and one is currently hospitalized. During the October 10 parliamentary elections, the MMA, an Islamic fundamentalist party, made significant gains and won the majority in two provinces. The MMA is known to openly support the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and wishes to implement sharia law in Pakistan. (http://persecution.org/prayer/pray2002-11.html)
In fact according to one web site , Since the death of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, 43,000,000 christians have become martyrs. Over 50% of these were in the last century alone. More than 200 million christians face persecution each day - 60% are children. Every day over 300 are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.
So truly, to read these words that promise blessing in the face of persecution, many Christians on our side of the globe struggle to understand what this promise means, much less whether or not we as individuals can identify with it.
So, as we have in the past, we will begin by examining the audience of this promise. Matthew 5:10 says "blessed are those who are persecuted." Let's take a few moments to understand what it means to be persecuted. The term literally in the Greek means to be put to flight. But for better understanding, as we examining the following verses, we see several categories explained for our benefit.
The first category of the persecuted is those who are made to suffer. Now, as we go through these categories, I'm going to illustrate on an ongoing basis just how nice the western church has it. As we've seen in the examples given to start our time together today, we see real, every day examples of the suffering imposed upon the church in the persecuted world. For another perspective, look at what the apostle Paul endured:
From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness besides the other things, -- 2 Cor. 11:24-28
Now, this is not to say that we don't have this category of persecution taking place in America - just a few years ago, we witnessed a madman storm into a Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth and kill several Christians. But the widespread persecution categorized by suffering isn't experienced in an ongoing basis here. So how do we relate to this category of persecution?
Look at matters on an individual basis. Are you someone who has been punished or penalized or injured for being a Christian? Have you been fired, or denied a promotion, or had something taken away from you because you lived your faith out loud? This is what it means to suffer for your faith.
The second category of the persecuted is those who are scolded for being Christ-followers. The word 'reviled' literally means "upbraided." In practical terms, we see this manifestation of persecution taking place all over the Muslim world where Christians are forced to recant their faith in Christ, or face punishment. Not long ago, there was a report of a young girl living in a predominantly Muslim country, and she and her older brother were both Christian. When encountered by a group of Islamic men, they were told to recant. When the brother refused, he was killed. They then turned to the girl, and told her to recant her faith in Christ. When she too refused, rather than killing her, they stabbed her in the legs, ripped long gashes in her thighs and calves, and poured gasoline into her open wounds.
In America, we have seen this same type of persecution. Oh, how still fresh in our minds is the chilling account given that the sick boys who terrorized Columbine High School asked Cassie Bernall if she was a Christian? They didn't force her to recant, but you know very well that this precious young lady was looking at the barrel of a gun, and knew that to answer yes would come at the cost of her very life. And that was the answer she bravely gave.
More often than not, though, this sort of persecution is given in a much more subtle manner, like when Peter stood warming himself at the fire while his Savior was in a kangaroo court. Three times Peter was asked, "you're not a Christ-follower, are you?" Basically, they were inferring that surely he wouldn't be a part of that "ridiculous movement." And three times, Peter buckled in the face of persecution. We discover later, though, that Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was willing to pay the price of His life to be identified as a follower of Jesus, the Christ.
The third category of persecution is those who are slandered for their faith in Jesus. In Romans 3, Paul is making an argument that our sinful nature demonstrates the righteousness of God. And in that argument, he says in verse 8, "And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come''? as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say." Here, Paul is identifying that some people in Rome were maliciously misreporting the doctrine of the Christians, in an attempt to discredit them. We look historically and see that the Emporer Nero is reported to have slandered Christians, by blaming them for the fires that ravaged Rome, thus bringing about widespread violence upon them. Slander is a form of persecution that maligns the name of Christ unjustly through the inaccurate statements attributed to or on Christians - individually or corporately. This is what it means when they "say all kinds of evil against you falsely."
The fourth category of persecution is those who are slighted for their faith in Jesus. Now, by 'slighted,' I have a couple of applications. One meaning means to be overlooked, or passed by, simply because you are a Christian. Another meaning is that the living expressions of your faith are explained away or dismissed as religious rants. One example I have of this type of 'slighting' is when Peter and the apostles began preaching to the assembly Acts 2, many of the Jews said to them, "oh, they're just full of new wine." We have seen this 'slight' reproduced in numerous ways. A couple of years ago, Peter Jennings came out with a pseudo-documentary on the life of Jesus, and attempted to explain away all of his miracles. We see people all the time healed by God, and people want to explain it away naturally or scientifically. The reality is, the fact that anyone can be healed at all, using no medications or procedures or many, is a testimony to the reality of the power of God. There is no healing, no cure to any illness or malady if God Himself did not ordain it to be so. And many times, even when science cannot explain it, when a Christian praises God for a healing, they'll be subjected to scorn, slander, and slighting for doing so.
The fifth category of persecution is those who are stalked for their faith in Jesus. Again, this is a category that is largely not experienced in our western culture. But this type of persecution is when Christians are individually and corporately hunted down because they are Christians. This is identifiable in the mass starvation of Christians in Africa, the mass murders of Christians in China, in Africa, and in Europe. This is when Christians are given no rest, no quarter, and are pressured, oppressed, and in many circumstances, exterminated, simply because they have identified Jesus as their Savior.
So if these are the categories of persecution, can we in America claim this promise for ourselves, well, not for the most part. But it doesn't keep us from trying. I hear and read all the time that Christians here want to wear a badge of persecution. Unfortunately, I fear that the badge they wear dishonors those who have truly earned it. In light of this, I share with you three conditions that have to be present for persecution to truly be such.
First, one has to be persecuted for righteousness. This means there has to be a reason for the persecution, and that reason is because you are reflecting and demonstrating God's holiness, God's love, God's righteousness. It's not appropriate nor is it accurate simply to attribute a negative experience to persecution if you are not behaving righteously, and if the persecution is a direct result of righteous behavior. That means if somebody is picking on you, before you start crying out that you are being persecuted, the first thing you ought to do is do a self-inventory. If you have been sinful, you can't claim this blessing. If you are being in your flesh, this promise is not for you. And, most subtly, if you are being self-righteous, and not righteous in Christ, than you certainly can't claim that you are being persecuted.
Second, the persecution has to be wrong. God's word says it has to be brought against you falsely. Too many times, we've had televangelists come out, standing behind God's pulpit saying, "somebody is slandering me. They're accusing me of cavorting with other women. I've never done such a thing." Then, months later, these same men come out, blubbering like imbeciles, snot dripping off their noses, and they admit that it was all correct after all. Friends, it is not persecution if you are actually doing that which is being said about you. If the fact is that you are guilty, God very well may be using your enemies to bring you under judgment so you will repent and return to fellowship with Him. You can only claim persecution if, when the accusation comes, your conscience is clean before the Lord.
Third, the persecution has to be representative in its nature. This is what I mean. Look at what God's word says - it has to occur for His sake. You are only being persecuted when people strike out at you because you are God's representative here on earth. If people malign you or are mean to you just because they think you are a jerk, then it just may not qualify. But, if you are simply minding God's business, faithfully serving, faithfully worshipping, faithfully abiding in Christ, and you still are being attacked or assaulted, then you may actually be a recipient of persecution.
Before I close today with the assurances, I want to give you an assurance of a different type. You won't find space for this on the outline, but it's important enough that you ought to make room for it somewhere on your notes and write it down.
Here's the assurance - If you are faithful, then rest assured, you will face persecution at some point in your life. You may not have to ever face an experience where you are called to make a choice between living the comforts of this life, or of giving away as a testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but God's word says that persecution is a realistic expectation for every believer. Look at the following statements:
But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now - Gal. 4:29
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
"Remember the word that I said to you, `A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. - John 15:20
You see, this pretty much takes the guesswork out of it. Persecution is not a variable in the Christian life. If you walk with God, it will be a walk of affliction.
Why, then, do so many Christians never experience the blessing of persecution? Why can so many of us sitting together today say, "Pastor, my Christian walk has never been like that. Nobody's ever been cruel to me. Nobody's ever challenged me. In fact, my Christian life has been so easy, that I don't think many people even know I am a Christian."
Therein lies the problem. We are fat, lazy, apathetic, lukewarm Christians. To too many people, the term Christian just identifies where you go to church. To too few people, the term Christian means "Christ-follower." Look at the first church - The first disciples understood what it meant to be Christ-followers:
Andrew went to Greece and preached in province of Achaia. Andrew was crucified in Edessa on an X-shaped cross.
James, the brother of John, preached to the Jews in Judea. James was executed in 44 AD by order of King Agrippa.
Matthew went to Ethiopia was associated with Candace. Matthew was nailed to the ground in the city of Naddayar, Ethiopia, and beheaded.
Matthias, the replacement of Judas, preached in Jerusalem. Matthias was stoned to death in Jerusalem and beheaded.
Mark went and preached in Alexandria. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria for speaking out against their idol worship.
Peter preached Jesus in Rome. Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome by Nero.
Jude, brother of James, preached Jesus in Edessa, where he, too, was crucified.
Bartholomew preached Jesus in India. Bartholomew was cruelly beaten and crucified by pagan idolaters in India.
Thomas preached the gospel in Persia, Parthia, and India. It was in India where Thomas was tortured by angry pagans, run through with spears, and thrown into the flames of an oven.
Luke, penman of the gospel with his name and also the book of Acts - one account says he was hung from an olive tree in AD 93, outside Athens, where he was evangelizing.
John, the brother of James, and the disciple Jesus loved - was the only apostle to escape violent death, but lived his last years in exile on the island of Patmos.
Paul, the first great missionary - preached Jesus on three different missionary journeys. Paul was arrested in Rome under the persecuting leadership of Emperor Nero, and falsely charged with crimes against the Emperor. In AD 66, he was taken to the executioner's block and beheaded.
The pattern is set. If you will sell out for the Lord, you will pay the price. One reason so many of us have never had to pay the price is because we are so incredibly comfortable that we've never left the pew. We don't know what it means to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Oh sure, we've done the word studies. You've heard the sermons. You've talked about it in Bible study, but you've never done it. But I promise you this, the moment you set your mind to obedience, the moment you commit to follow the resurrected Lord, you will be set on a different path. And that new path will include abandonment by the world, isolation, rejection, abuse, and persecution.
The United States has more Christians than anywhere else in the world, by percentage of our population; yet, we are not Christians of the same ilk as the brothers and sisters who went before us. We don't go anywhere. We don't do anything. Our Christian experience rarely transcends the four walls of our church. Do you want to know how pathetic it has become? Foreign countries are now sending Christian missionaries here, recognizing that we are doing the job. And praise God for them! We need to step up to the front of the line, pick up the gospel from the hands of our brothers and sisters who have fallen before us, and carry out the great commission faithfully to our Jerusalem, to our Judea, to our Samaria, to the utter ends of the earth for the glory of His name! We must do it, because that is what it means to be a Christian. This is the opportunity at hand, to be persecuted for His name's sake!
And here is the assurance for all those who in humility of spirit find themselves in that category. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. Does this look familiar? It should. Look at the first beatitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Remember now? So what's the connection? The only way you will be persecuted is if you are poor in spirit. The only way you will follow Jesus to a place where you can expect persecution is if you are willing to be empty of all pride and follow Jesus where His Holy Spirit leads you. And when you come to that place, spiritually and physically, yours will be the kingdom of heaven.
Today, to close, I just want to illustrate that this promise is offered in three phases. First - you have the assurance of the kingdom of heaven in the here and now, in the face of persecution. Remember Stephen, when facing the vicious stoning of the Jews in Jerusalem, looked up and saw the Savior Himself. Countless testimonies of Roman persecution detail how saint after saint was able to face a horrible, savage death because of the presence of Jesus Christ in the final moments of their life. Remember that John 14 tells us that heaven is being in the presence of Jesus Christ forever. By the grace of God, when facing terrible persecution, God has chosen to mercifully reveal Himself to those who have paid the ultimate price for His name's sake. To those, He grants the ultimate gift.
Next, we have the assurance of the kingdom of heaven in the millennium, for those who face persecution. Revelation 20:4 promises this:
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. - Rev. 20:4
Finally, the reward of the kingdom of God is eternal. It doesn't matter what is taken away from you in this life. Nothing can separate you from the love of God, and a life given for His name's sake is a life promised eternal blessing.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. - James 1:2-4
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