Persecution for the Faith
Hi Everyone,
Today is the first day of February. Time is marching on. I am already looking forward to spring.
But the message that I have to share today is one of preparation for what is ahead. Once again, the Lord is showing me that persecution awaits those of us who are living for the Lord. Here in the United States, we have never really had a lot of persecution because our forefathers fought for the right to worship freely. But we are living in a new time, where evil and corruption are rampant. The devil knows his time is short, so he is gearing up for more attacks against the people of God.
Today, rather than a vision, I am sharing a dream that I received in October. It was not an easy message, so I put it on hold. But after the Lord confirmed to me no less than three times, I am sharing it today.
A Dream - “The Arrest”
I am standing in a livingroom of a large home. There are several people in the room with me, saying things that seem very random. There is a sense of anticipation. They seem to be preparing for something. There is a bit of moving things around, re-arranging, as if expecting company.
Suddenly, I picked up on what I believe to be happening, so I ask someone, “Am I going to be arrested?”
The person answers, “Yes. They will be here in a few minutes.”
There is a suitcase that is laid out and opened, with a few articles of clothing. I notice a bra among the items, and I immediately think to myself. I bet they won’t let me wear my own clothes. They will take away even a bra, because of attempting suicide, like they take away belts from male prisoners.
I look out the window and I see two men in police uniform at the back end of a car with the hatch open. I can read the word “Police” on the backs of their shirts.
I think to myself, there is no time to run. I will have to go with them.
After this dream, I had questions. I immediately asked the Lord, “Have I done anything wrong? Am I guilty of a sin? Is this a prophetic dream, and that I will someday be arrested for my faith as I have clearly expressed in the visions that I share on my blog?”
I also asked him, “Will there be people in my life, like those in the room, who will be glad that I am being arrested?”
Even this morning, when I was praying about which vision to share with you, the Lord selected this one. And I asked once more if he would confirm the message. I opened my Bible, and my eyes immediately fell upon Jesus’ words written in red:
“‘Quick!’ he said to me, ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’” Acts 22:18
This passage of scripture that I saw confirmed the message that it was not about sin, but about the persecution for one’ faith in the Lord. And I asked a second time for the Lord to show me a passage either of sin or of persecution. I opened the Bible once again and my eyes fell on this sentence in the introduction to the chapter:
“Forced to leave Thessalonica, Paul went to Berea where another brief but successful ministry was cut short by persecution stirred up by hostile Jews who followed him from Thessalonica.”
So now I will share what I believe that the Lord is showing me.
We know that the wicked one, the devil is our adversary. It may seem like people are, for they can be instruments in the enemy’s hands. But ultimately, it is the devil and his demons that are the enemies of our souls. They are of course the Lord’s enemies as well.
And the devil has power to cause all kinds of trouble to the earth and to those of us who live here.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
The message of persecution is important for the church to understand and embrace, for many in the church, especially in America, are not looking ahead to difficult times, but instead to a divine escape. So many, the majority of born again believers, believe that the tribulation will last seven years, and that before it gets started, we will be raptured out of harm’s way.
But why are we here? What is our purpose? Are we not to bring glory to his name, and to proclaim the good news of the gospel and the kingdom of God?
John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord. He warned people that the Messiah was coming and that people needed to repent of their sins and be baptized. He said:
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11-12
John, full of the Holy Spirit, and commissioned by God as prophet to prepare his people’s hearts for his coming, warned the leaders of Israel, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, that God was not pleased with them. As he saw them he said to them:
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Matthew 3:7-10
As John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord for his time of visitation, we need to be sharing the gospel and leading people to repent of their sins. The Lord wants all people to be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. He wants people today to not live in ignorance of what is coming. That is why he sends people out to speak to others and give them an opportunity to get right with God, for he is returning.
Jesus warned his disciples, that no one knows the day or the hour that he will come. But he tells us all to be faithful:
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24:45-51
Jesus is serious about us doing the will of God and serving him, for those who don’t will experience eternal judgment. This is the fear of the Lord. Unfortunately, grace has been taught to the church, without also teaching the fear of God. God does not wink at sin. Repentance means a deliberate change of mind. It is a decision to change the way one operates, his motives, and what he values. It is a decision to put God first.
Yes, grace is there for true believers who earnestly believe that Jesus died on the cross for the remission of sin, and to gain right standing with God. True believers will understand that it is a relationship with the Lord that is needed and not just a religious experience, or notion about God. It is not about a set of rules, nor is it about following religious traditions and celebrations. God is holy, and he wants us to be holy. Therefore we are to honor him by placing him above all things. We show our love for him by obeying his teachings, his commands.
“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15
Yes, Jesus is our advocate. John writes these words:
“My dear children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:1-6
So the message today is about persecution. Jesus told his disciples
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 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 all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” John 15:18-21
In the publication Christianity Today, is an article regarding the worldwide persecution of Christians. According to Open Doors 2023 World Watch List, Christian persecution is increasing.
“More than 5,600 Christians were killed for their faith last year. More than 2,100 churches were attacked or closed. More than 124,000 Christians were forcibly displaced from their homes because of their faith, and almost 15,000 became refugees.
Sub-Saharan Africa—the epicenter of global Christianity—is now also the epicenter of violence against Christians, as Islamist extremism has spread well beyond Nigeria.
And North Korea is back at No. 1, according to the 2023 World Watch List”
We just had the National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance 2024, yesterday, January 31, 2024, taking place in Washington DC. It was a day of repentance for the sins of the nations. It was an awesome time of prayer. Repentance and restoration and revival are all needed desperately. It is God’s mercy, grace and power that will lead us back to our Christian roots. We want our nation to once again declare that we are “one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12
We pray that all the nations of the earth will be blessed to have the Lord as their God. Yet we know that at this time, the world is very much against God, and they are against his people. So we need to pray for those whose faith is tested daily, who are going through extreme trials. Let us pray that their faith does not fail, but that they persevere in spite of hardship and abuse. According to Open Doors 2023: “More than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.”
Persecution is a global problem, we need the Lord’s help to overcome the hatred and wickedness of the enemy.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:4-5
When we look to the Lord in times of trouble, we will find that he will stand with us in the fire, like he did for Daniel’s friends: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image.
“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.” Daniel 3:23-28
Hallelujah, the Lord saves and delivers! The Lord wants us to trust in him. But we also know that there will be martyrs, those “who love not their lives unto death.”
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11
Lord, we pray that when persecution comes our way we will respond like you did.
“When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:33-34
Jesus did not complain, or return insults.
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7
Jesus is our example. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
“If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:11-13
So let’s encourage one another to keep the faith, stand strong, and trust the Lord with all our hearts.
“And being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
God bless you all. Please share this with your fellow believers, that they may be prepared for the days ahead, in anticipation of the Lord’s return.
