This is a sermon that was delivered on Nov. 1, 2020. The theme of the message focused on the reality of persecution for believers in biblical times, as well as the present. This message was given in recognition of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, as well as All Saints Day. Millions of Christian believers have lived out their faith being confronted daily with the possibility of suffering and death. You may view a video recording of the worship service in which this sermon was delivered by clicking here.
Written excerpts of the sermon follow below.
Psalm 44:22 (NKJV) Yet for
Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter.
Introduction:
Annie Johnson Flint was born on Christmas Eve in 1866 to Mr. & Mrs.
Eldon Johnson. Three years later she was joined by a baby sister, but her
mother died while giving birth. Her father had an incurable disease, so before
his death, he willed the girls to a couple by the name of Flint.
Annie gave her heart to the Lord at the age of 8 and joined her church
10 years later, having never doubted that she was truly converted. She was generally
disposed to be cheerful and optimistic. She looked on the bright side of life
and was able to get much enjoyment out of life.
After high school, Annie eventually became a schoolteacher. In her
second year of teaching, arthritis began to show itself. She grew steadily
worse until it became difficult for her to walk at all, and she was soon
obliged to give up her work, followed by three years of increasing
helplessness. The death of both of her adoptive parents within a few months of
each other left Annie and her sister alone again. There was little money in the
bank, and the twice-orphaned children had come to a real “Red Sea place” in
their lives. (https://hymnary.org/person/Flint_Annie)
These limited details about Annie’s life help us understand how she
could write a poem like this:
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.
His pow’r has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!
The words of this hymn are appropriate for anyone that is going through
difficult times of adversity, especially persecution.
Today has been designated by the Voice of the Martyrs organization as “International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.” Today is also “All Saints Day” on the Christian Church calendar. For those two reasons, I chose the passage of Scripture from Hebrews, which was read earlier and the title of today’s message: “Daily Dealing with Death.”
All Saints Day was celebrated long before the Protestant Reformation but continued to be observed by many protestant denominations. Initially it seems to be a time to remember all those who were martyred for their faith but later included honoring both living and dead. Some churches stress the strong connection between the believers who have died (the Church Triumphant) and those yet living (the Church Militant), and give thanks to God for the lives of all saints (believers) whether famous or obscure. Protestant Christians have resisted the practice of praying to saints or worshiping them, but we certainly honor their testimony.
I would like to take the rest of our time this morning to look into
various Scriptures and speak about the plight of Christians who serve the Lord
in spite of great danger and threat to their lives.
Psalm 44:22 (NKJV) Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
(Pulpit Commentaries) Verse
22. - Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; or, continually,
as the phrase is often translated. Not only are the Israelites not suffering on
account of any previous desertion of God, or other misconduct, but they are
suffering for their fidelity to God. The heathen hate them, and make war upon
them, as worshippers of one exclusive God, Jehovah, and condemners of their
many gods, whom they hold to be "no-gods."
They are martyrs, like the
Christians of the early Church (see Romans 8:36). We are counted
as sheep for the slaughter (compare v. 11).
Psalm 44:11 (NKJV) You have given us up like sheep intended
for food, And have scattered us among the nations.
(Barnes Notes) The meaning is [this], It is on
thy account; it is in thy cause; it is because we are thy friends, and because
we worship thee. It is not on account of our national sins; it is not because
there is any prevalent idolatry, but it is because we are the worshippers of
the true God, and we are, therefore, martyrs. All these calamities have come
upon us in consequence of our attachment to thee. There is no evidence that
there was any self-glorying in this, or any intention to blame God as if he
were unjust or severe, but it is the feeling of martyrs as suffering in the
cause of religion.
The Psalmist is revealing the fact that the people of Israel were objects of hatred and violence / attacks because of their devotion to Jehovah. In some parts of the world that has always been true even to this day.
Revelation 12:11 (KJV) And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death.
(Lenski New Testament
Commentary) – … "and did not love their life up to death" (John
12:25). They would rather suffer martyrdom than deny that blood and the Word
and their testimony. We have an example in Paul, Acts 20:24."
John 12:25 (NKJV) He who
loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep
it for eternal life.
Acts 20:24 (NKJV) But none
of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may
finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
(Leon Morris, Tyndale New
Testament Commentaries) – To give way in the face of persecution is to fall
away from Christ and to lose everything, but to stand firm means final victory
over Satan. That John has the martyrs in mind is clear from the words they
did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. But the same
quality of devotion is required from all the followers of the Lamb (cf. Luke
14:26; John 12:25).
As John writes these words in The Revelation, again we are reminded
that followers of Jesus Christ were targeted for harm and even death, but that
didn’t deter them nor change them.
Let’s take a look at the passage in Hebrews we heard earlier.
Hebrews 11:36-38 (NKJV) Still others had trial of
mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They
were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,
tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered
in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
Here are some observations based on these passages of Scripture:
1. True people of faith see what others cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen.
All of these examples we have read about in both the OT and the NT were
people who could “see” what was invisible because of their faith.
That still holds true today.
2. True people of faith possess strength that others do not have.
Because faith enables people to “see” the invisible, what they see –
the fulfillment of God’s promise – provides an inner strength that others do
not have.
I cannot read about the suffering and persecution and even death that believers endured in the Bible and in modern times without being amazed at their strength to hold up in such horrible treatment. That strength obviously comes from their intimate connection to the Lord through His Holy Spirit, Who is faithful to provide the grace that is needed and when it is needed.
Romans 8:35-37 (NKJV) Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
"For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
The personal, loving relationship with Christ sustains us and there is
nothing that can take it away.
3. True people of faith will win the prize they seek.
Hebrews 11:39 (NKJV) And all these, having obtained a good testimony
through faith, did not receive the promise,
The word “promise” is singular in the original language and is defined by Lenski in his commentary like this: (Lenski New Testament Commentary) – It is the final and supreme fulfillment, the consummation at the last day, the ultimate of all that we are hoping for, of all that is not seen (v. 1).
(R.T. France, Expositor's
Bible Commentary, Revised) – This
general comment looks back over the whole list of heroes of faith and puts them
all, even men of the stature of Abraham and Moses, into perspective within the
whole scope of God’s plan of salvation. None of them had reached the ultimate
goal to which they were looking forward, whether consciously or not. They may
have received the fulfillment of many “promises” (see vv.11-12, 17, 33; 6:15)
and seen God’s power spectacularly at work in their behalf, but there still
remained “the promise” (singular; NIV, “what had been promised”), which for our
author denotes something beyond all these temporary blessings: the ultimate
fulfillment of God’s purpose for his people.
This fulfillment, verse 40 indicates, will be realized when all of
God’s people are finally and completely redeemed.
Conclusion:
It really doesn’t matter whether you’re speaking about the believers who lived in Bible times, or the millions of believers since then up to the present, they all need to be recognized for their stalwart faith. They need to be honored for their willingness to stay true to their faith and their Lord in spite of tremendous opposition and suffering. For many of them, the possibility of death was a reality they had to reckon with every single day, just like the Scripture we quoted earlier,
Psalm 44:22 (NKJV) Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
In Uganda, Anna came to Christ from a Muslim background, and
her family did not accept her choice. She fled to a pastor’s home in earlier
August, but by then she was already ill and rapidly losing weight. After
several days, she was struggling to walk and in great pain. Her family knew she
was ill, and her father sent a message to her saying she would not survive. After
a month in the hospital, she succumbed to the illness and passed away. Doctors
found damage to her internal organs from poison, which her family likely
administered to her while she still lived at home. Anna is survived by two
children, ages 12 and 6, who are being cared for by the pastor.
A Bru community in rural Laos was so determined to drive out
a group of Christian families that they resorted to drastic measures. “They
were so resistant to their faith, they were trying to scare them out of the village
or to renounce their faith,” a VOM field worker said. Persecution began in 2018
when the villagers killed the livestock and crops of the three families. They
even planted a bomb in their cooking fire, hoping to scare or injure them. The
Christian families are also banned from using the village well. Even so, the
believers are determined to stay in their village as a testimony to God’s
power, so they requested that VOM drill a well for them. Pray that the firm
bravery of these families will cause many in their village to turn to God.
The real threats of persecution and death that thousands and perhaps millions of Christians face every day cause us to realize how strong and courageous they are for continuing to practice their faith. All the while these believers continue gathering for worship and prayers in the face of such threats, here in America we have been making it easier and easier for people to stay home. If we do not soon experience a spiritual awakening in our nation, Christians in our nation will also face the reality of dying for their faith. Prayer is absolutely crucial.
One thing we know for certain. Regardless of all that the enemies of God try to do, God’s kingdom and God’s truth will prevail and will keep marching on! The closing song I’ve chosen for today is a great reminder of that fact.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
No comments:
Post a Comment