For the first 300 years of Christianity, almost all Christians lived under anti-Christian rulers who often persecuted them and killed many of them. God, in His great wisdom, permitted people to persecute His children, for His glory. Even today, God has permitted some of His finest children to live under governments that persecute them. The church has always flourished best under persecution. But wherever the church experiences ease, comfort and material prosperity, in most cases it becomes worldly. As long as we are in the world, we will face tribulation, persecution and trials. So, we need not expect an easy time – either in our workplace or in our personal life – as we approach the end of this age.
Days of financial difficulties will come. So, we must learn to live simply even now. Those who live in luxury will find things to be very difficult in the coming days. We must be wise in saving money for the future, so that we don’t have to depend on others. But our trust must not be in our savings, but in the Lord alone. God is a jealous God and He will never allow us to trust in anything created. God will shake the world’s financial systems, so that those who trust in created things will be shaken. As Jesus said, we will see brothers betraying brothers and our family-members becoming our enemies (Matt.10:21). There will be active persecution of believers in offices and in factories. All this will purify us and make us better Christians. 1 Peter 3:13 says that no-one can harm us if we always seek to do good. So, we must determine, by God’s grace, to do good to one and all. We must love those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for the forgiveness of those who persecute us. Then no-one will be able to harm us. Satan and his agents may cheat us, trouble us, harass us, rob us, injure us, imprison us and even kill our bodies. But they will never be able to harm us spiritually.
We must prepare Christians all over the world to face persecution for their faith in the coming days. There are four commands that our Lord has given us for such days:
1. "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matt.10:16).
We must not be foolish in our witnessing, but wise. Our lives must speak for Christ, where we live and where we work. In our witness for the Lord, we must make it clear that we are speaking about a Person – Jesus Christ – and not about the Christian religion being superior to other religions. Jesus will draw people to Himself, when He is lifted up (John 12:32). We must also be alert, to discern non-Christian spies who will pretend to be interested in Christianity, when their real motive may be to accuse us of some word that we use, in order to take us to court for "forcibly trying to convert them". So, we must be wise as well as loving – as Jesus was: (a) “Jesus did not entrust Himself to some people, because He knew what was in them” (John 2:23-25). Discern everyone. (b) “Jesus was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews there were seeking to kill Him” (John 7:1). Avoid unnecessary danger. (c) "Pray for those who persecute you" (Matt.5:44). Be good – and don’t become evil because others are evil.
2. “Live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt.4:4).
In times of persecution, the most important requirement is to be sensitive to the word that God is speaking to our hearts. We must develop the habit of a listening attitude to God throughout the day. The word we hear from God must then be believed and obeyed. Otherwise it has no value. So, we must meditate more on the Word of God (especially the New Testament) – for only thus will we be able to discern God’s voice. And then we must "trust and obey".
3. “Love one another as I have loved you. All men will know you are My disciples, when you love one another” (John 13:34, 35).
Both in our home and in our churches, we must stop all judging of one another, all backbiting against one another, all quarrelling with each other, and all suspicion of one another. Discernment is a Divine quality, but suspicion is a Satanic quality. Now is the time to concentrate on fighting sin and Satan in our lives. Now is the time to actively pursue loving our marriage partners and loving our fellow believers.
4. “In the world you WILL HAVE tribulation. But be bold. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
God is on the throne and He will never forsake His own. Satan was defeated 2000 years ago. We are the apple of God’s eye, and so He will be a wall of fire around us (Zech.2:5, 8). No weapon formed against us will ever prosper (Isa.54:17). So, let us "be content with what we have, for God Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you’. So that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my Helper. I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’" (Heb.13:5, 6).
Let us also pray, "Come soon, Lord Jesus" (Rev.22:20). |
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