Sharing Jesus and Persecution

Hi Friends,

Christmas is just around the corner. The much world will celebrate Christmas in some way. Whether you are Christian or not, many celebrate the day and the season by going to parties, exchanging gifts, singing popular Christmas songs and getting caught up in the holiday spirit. I had two Hindu friends who got into the Christmas spirit by decorating their home with a Christmas tree, hanging stockings on their mantle, singing jingle bells and setting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus. Why wouldn’t they? Christmas is fun for kids and adults. Hindus believe in 300 million gods, Jesus is just another charm on a bracelet. This is the secular Christmas that the world celebrates.

But for those of us who love Jesus, and who acknowledge him as their Lord and Savior, Jesus is not just a little babe in a manger. No He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the Beginning and the End. He is the one and only God. He is the creator of the universe that gave each of us breath. He is Jesus, God’s only Son who offered up his perfect life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He died on the cross, shedding his blood to redeem us and satisfy a debt that we could not pay. So let us give Him the glory which he alone deserves.

I am sharing two visions today that the Lord gave me recently. The first is on sharing the gospel and the second is about the persecution of believers. I hope you will read, because we need to understand the Lord’s heart for the lost, and his plan for us as his believers.

A Woman Watering Plants

In the first vision, I saw a woman watering plants.  This is a simple vision with an equally simple message.  The woman represents the church, and what she is doing is something that is very important to the Lord—sharing the gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God.  

Paul uses the idea of planting and watering to represent the work of the Lord in sharing the gospel with others.  But in doing the work of God, he wants people not to think of themselves or anyone else as being especially important.  Working for the Lord should be seen as merely doing what is expected.  We should not become prideful in our work for the Lord, for it is God who brings the miracles and the increase.  Apart from him we can do nothing! 

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.  For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.  1 Corinthians 3:6-9

I believe that The Lord gave us this vision, because he wants us to be faithful to his purpose. 

These were the Lord’s last instructions to his disciples:

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  Mark 16:15-16 

And as recorded by Matthew:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18

This command to go into all the world is for us and all who believe.  Everyday and everywhere  there are people who need to know the Lord.  He wants all to be saved—to receive his free gift of salvation.  So we are all called to fulfill his purpose, whether it is to share the gospel with a neighbor, a family member or someone we just met.  No matter whether we are sent across town or across the globe, we must do our part to reach those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. 

In addition to watering, the Lord uses the idea of harvesting to convey the idea of gathering in all those who will be saved.  “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  Matthew 9:37-38

We know that it may take several encounters with the gospel before one believes and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  In this way, one may plant, one may water, and the Lord will cause faith to grow.  We should not lose heart when someone does not immediately believe.  It may take years for some  to come to the Lord, but no matter what, we must remain faithful to share and to pray and to wait for God to draw them.  Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”  John 6:44

So we pray that the Father draws them, and we pray that the Lord will send us and others into the harvest field, for we want to see God’s purpose accomplished. “…your will be done on this earth as it is in heaven.”  Matthew 6:10

A Flame 

In this vision I saw a large flame appear over an object that resembled a Chinese painted wood saddle.  The saddle was sitting on a stand that was about 42” high.  The flame above the object and its stand reminded me of a tall candlestick or lamp stand.  

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus walks among the lampstands, which represent the seven major churches of the first century. “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,  his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.  As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”  Revelation 1:12-20

I believe that the flame represents the Holy Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost when the church was born. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”  Acts 2:1-4

So the lamp stand represents the church and the flame represents the Holy Spirit. But there is another aspect to this vision.  The object that sat on top of the stand reminded me of a Chinese painted wooden saddle.  I believe that the Lord is specifically interested in the church in China.  As you may know, the church in China is an underground church, for it is illegal to worship the Lord.  All religions and spiritual practices are outlawed in China.  The leader in China, Xi Jinping, has set up several statues of himself in key cities in China to increase his authority and control over China.  It is not surprising, given the Chinese culture, that the leader would demand worship of his image by his citizens.  Kim Jong-un the supreme leader of North Korea also demands to be worshiped as a god.   

We know that it is pure idolatry to worship anyone or anything other than the Lord God Almighty, the one and only God. So we must pray for those who will undergo persecution rather than bowing the head or bending the knee to an egotistical government/religious leader. We are to worship no other God but the God-head, a Trinity, one God yet three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

So the Lord wants us to pray for the persecuted church in China.  So many believers in China have suffered at the hands of people who do not know God.  Yet the mainstream media here in the US refuses to report about it.  Occasionally we may hear of a generic term: “human rights abuses,” but never do we hear of the word “persecution,” or “genocide.”

Rarely if at all, the mainstream media may mention the Uyghurs who are Muslims in China. As a group, they have experience tremendous persecution.  For those of you who do not know, the Uyghurs are taken to work camps where they work until their death.  Some are sterilized against their will, and some are like lab rats whose organs are harvested for the wealthy and powerful. But persecution is not limited to the Uygers.  The Christian population undergoes similar imprisonment and mistreatment.  It is urgent that we lift up these people in our prayers.  

The Lord would have us intercede for all believers that are imprisoned, and in chains for their faith in him.  Years ago, the Lord gave me a vision of hands reaching through the bars of a jail.  I knew then that God wanted me to pray for the persecuted church around the world. So many people are  mistreated and imprisoned by ruthless tyrants.  We must pray for divine intervention, and that their faith in God will not fail, but will withstand the trials they face.  We pray that their faith will be strong like that of Daniel and his three friends: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

These men would not bow down to the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had made, they were to be thrown into a fiery furnace.  The story begins in Chapter 3 in the book of Daniel.  This is the latter portion of the account: 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.  And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.  Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.  Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”  He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.  And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.  Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.  Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”  Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.  Daniel 3:16-30

Today is no different than days of the past.  Persecution is real.  It will test everyone who believes.  So we pray that those that are in the fiery trials right now will have God’s supernatural faith to endure.  For Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33

James encourages us with these words: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  James 1:2-4

We pray that the Lord will protect the Church and provide deliverance.  And we pray that these believers will remain steadfast in their faith and unwavering, and unshakable in their resolve to follow the Lord.  Let us “Pray without ceasing.”  1 Thessalonians 5:17   

The Two Visions Together

When we look at the two visions together, we see that they are very much related.  Wherever the gospel is preached, believers will be made.  Wherever there are believers in a worldly culture, there will be conflict and persecution.  

Jesus sent out his disciples to share the good news of the Kingdom of God. 

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”  Matthew 10:16-23

When new believers come to the Lord, their eyes are open, and everything changes.  They have a new perspective and a new spirit.  They can no longer agree with the values of the world.  They are a new creation; it is impossible for them to remain silent. Their attitudes and desires change.  They no longer fit into the world system for they see the world from a different perspective. Their primary focus is to please the Lord, and not themselves.  

Now there is no harmony with the world around them.  They become a thorn in the side to those who have known them.  Some may see the change in the new believer and will want what he has received.  But to those who do not like the change, will respond with resentment.  Many see the new believer’s faith as an affront to the traditions and beliefs of their own culture. Just the mention of the name of Jesus can spark persecution.  

“If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  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.  If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.  But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me.”  John 15:19-21

So we pray for the church, and for all believers everywhere.  We pray for the evangelists and missionaries who devote themselves to sharing the gospel.  We pray that the gospel will go forth unhindered and that there will be an end-time harvest.  We want all people to be saved, and no one to go to hell.  

Let us share our faith and the love of Christ with those around us. 

And please share this post with those that need to know that Jesus loves them. God bless you in your walk with him!