Video Transcript: Vocal Witness are Protected

Here we are back again talking about how when we go out for vocal witnessing that it's not just a good idea. It's not something that some of us are good at and others aren't. There's a commission. We are appointed - every one of us - to bear the name of Jesus. And we have the marvelous opportunity and joy to share that with others. Let's pray about it and then, get going. 

Jesus, we have all sorts of values in this life. We like this, and we don't like that. And we like this more than we like something else.  We have treasures. We guard some things. Nothing in our life is more important than that we get to be called Christians - little Christs, followers of the Messiah, commissioned to speak your name. Thank you that we may do that. We love you. Amen.

I read a book about worry, because a lot of people worry. And what it said in that book about worry was think of the worst possible thing that could happen to you, and then, write that down. And deal with it. You find that a lot of the things that you were worrying about, they're hardly worth writing down. But there's usually something where you say, "This will happen," or "That." Take the worst thing that could happen, write that down, and then, confront it. 

I want to ask the same question about us. What's the worst thing that could happen to us if we live the way Christ wants us to do and if we speak the name of Jesus? There's a verse I want to look at with you as we start that discussion. It's in Acts 9. It's a great story. Here's the story. There was a man who hated Jesus. His name was Saul. There are people like that today too. It wasn't enough that he didn't believe in Jesus and he just said, "I'm not going to pay any attention to him." But because he didn't believe in Jesus, he hated him and he was trying to wipe out Jesus and the early church that Jesus had founded. 

So, he was going all over the place from city to city. He even got special documents from one city to another so that he could go and bother Christians, persecute them, threaten them, even put them to death. And so, one day, he's going to another city - going to do more of that dirty work. He couldn't sit still, couldn't leave Jesus alone. And by the way, isn't that the truth? All the people in the world who are fighting against Christianity. If they don't believe in Jesus, fine. Leave him alone. But what drives them on to try to destroy Jesus and to try to destroy the followers? Do you think maybe they're afraid of the truth and they think that Christians might have the truth? 

Anyway, so Saul is going to another city and on the way, a bright light comes out of sky and knocks him right off his horse, right on the ground. It even makes him blind for a while. And while he's lying there - because he was on his way to persecute some more Christians - he hears this voice from the sky. And the voice says, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" 

He's just lying there. He can't see a thing. He says, "Who are you talking to me?" 

Listen to this. "And the voice from Heaven said, 'Saul, you are persecuting me.'" Did you hear that? Who was being persecuted? Those people in prison were. They could tell you that. The guy with all the marks on his back from getting a beating, he could tell you who was being persecuted. The lady there with the three children who's crying because her husband was killed, she could tell you who was being persecuted. And Saul was on his way to another city to do more dirty work, to hurt more people who followed Jesus. 

All at once, he was stopped and Jesus says, "Why are you persecuting that woman?" No. "Why are you persecuting that young man?" No. "Why are you persecuting that group of people?" No. "Why are you going to that city to persecute more people and throw them in prison?" No. "Saul, why do you persecute me?" Do you hear that? Who was Saul threatening? It says right there. "Breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." Who was being persecuted? Well, they were. But who was really being persecuted? Jesus. 

Every time Paul saw a Christian put to death, it was like he was putting Jesus to death. Every time Paul stood there and laughed while they were beating the back of a believer, it was Jesus who was being persecuted and beaten all over again. It's that way all through the Bible. In the Old Testament, when the prophets of God were being harmed, God said, "Don't do my prophets any harm. The reproach that falls on them, falls on me."

Here's an example from the New Testament in Romans 8. It says there, "When they're being persecuted for their faith, for your sake, Jesus, we are being persecuted all day long." 

Maybe we can come at it in a slightly different way. Jesus said in Matthew 25 that when we give a Christian some clothes, because he follows Jesus, when we give a Christian something to eat or drink, because he follows Jesus, when we hear that a Christian is sick and we visit that person, because he follows Jesus, or when we visit a Christian who's in prison, Jesus said, "Do you know what? You're doing that to me. When you do it to these followers of me, you do it to me." That's a neat thought, isn't it? And that should encourage us as churches to be so kind and generous and outgoing, because when we are helping followers of Jesus-- imagine the thrill of being able to give Jesus a drink of water. 

There's another verse in Hebrews 6:10. And it says there, "God is not unjust. He will not forget the help you have given to him as you helped his people and are helping them." Isn't that something? He will not forget what you have done to him as you have done it to his people. That's the positive side of that - that when we live the Christian life, and we help others in Jesus' name and we help other Christians, Jesus said, "You're doing it to me." 

The negative side of that is that when we're being persecuted-- and do you know what that persecution is? Sometimes being put to death. Sometimes, they were put out of the worship place. Sometimes, they had their stuff taken away. Other times, they just laughed at them. Other times, they wouldn't talk to them anymore. Other times, they embarrassed them. We're going to talk about fear later on. But those are the things we fear. 

Persecution comes in many different forms. It's true in our lives as well, right? Maybe your life where if it's known that you are a Christian and that you are sharing Jesus, you will be killed. But maybe you're living in a country where the worst thing that will happen to you is people will laugh and just say you're crazy. They won't talk to you anymore. They won't do business with you. But we have to ask the question, "Whose is the cause we fight for? " It's Jesus. Who is being threatened when you are threatened? Jesus is. Who's being persecuted when you are being harmed or whether you're just being marginalized? Jesus.

We've been given a commission, and we're protected by Jesus. Another great story about that. There are lots of them because we had to hear them, and they're important. Paul was traveling. He was one who went. "Go and make disciples." He was called to do that. Others stayed back. So, he's traveling and he was onboard the ship, and they were going to have that storm. Everybody's scared to death. And what does he say? He stands up in the middle-- it's dark. The ship is being destroyed. They're throwing stuff overboard. They cut down the mast. They're just hoping to hang on. They end up jumping in the water, holding on to pieces of wood. And Paul stands up in the middle of all that fear and he says this in Acts 27:23, "Last night, an angel of the God who's I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul.'" 

Isn't that something? Do you think that only happens to Paul? Do you think that's only from times gone by? God's word never changes. What is your biggest fear in speaking to misbelievers about Jesus? And by the way, I want to call attention to that word "misbelievers". There's no such thing as an unbeliever. You're either a believer in the true God or you are a misbeliever. Everybody believes. Even that atheist we talked about. His belief is that God doesn't exist. You've got to be brave, but that's what he believes. People who believe in false religions, they're believers, but they're misbelievers. 

So, take some time. Maybe we can't cover it all in our time in this session. Take some time to write down what is your biggest fear in speaking to misbelievers about Jesus? What should we say? "Well, I don't want to look like I'm a fanatic." Here's one a lot of people say. "I don't want to sound like I'm better than anybody else." We're not. Here's another. "Who am I to judge?" We're not judging. We're sharing the way to everlasting life. 

Sometimes we fear being rejected in that way. People will say that to you, "Oh, I suppose you think you're so good."

"Oh, no." But we fear that. 

Sometimes we fear it will hurt our business. If we put an ad in the paper or we have certain things in our store, in our business that we follow Jesus, that could hurt us. Maybe if you're a younger person in high school or a university, others will laugh at you. "Do you still believe that stuff? Do you really think the Bible is truth?" Or maybe you want to date someone, and they say, "Oh! Not someone who believes that. You're a fanatic."

Maybe you think you might lose your spouse. I know many people who have become Christians whose families have turned on them. There's a lot of fear. And what is the very worst fear? What is the very worst thing that could happen to you? I think most of us right away think of something. They say, "They could kill us." And that happens. That's happening all over the world today. Do you know there were more martyrs for Jesus Christ in the last century than in all the centuries before? And that's going on in this century?

There are countries where if you say that you are a Christian, you are given a jail sentence of eight years. There are countries where if you say you are a Christian, you'll be killed maybe not necessarily by the government, but by a government that tolerates someone to kill you. Actually, being killed by people when the government tolerates them to do that to you. 

We tend to look at that and say, "Do you know what? That's the worst thing that could happen to me." Is that so? What about the Jesus who is alive, who's in Heaven and sees everything that's being done in your life? Do you think you can lose? Let's take a look at that. Why would we be afraid of dying if we know that we have everlasting life? 

You say, "Well. Not so much for me, but I'm going to leave my family. My business might collapse. They might torture me." But we're those whose lives are hidden in God through Christ. 

I read a running magazine, because I like to run. And it said in there, "It's okay to hurt yourself but never harm yourself." Do you know what that means? It's okay to train so hard that maybe for a day or two, your muscles hurt or to run so far that maybe for a day or two, you have to take some special therapy. But never harm yourself. Never destroy part of your body. Never run so hard or train so hard that there's permanent damage. Jesus says the same thing to us. He said, "It might be that you get hurt. But you'll never be harmed, because you are in my care. You might lose possessions. You might lose friends. You might be hurt. You might lose your life. But that will not be harm. Because you are with me. I am with you. Everlasting life."

Do you know some of the things that happened in Paul's life? He was beaten, shipwrecked, hunger, without sleep, loss of friends, threatened, stoned. God says to him, "Don't be afraid, Paul." 

What's the worst thing that can happen to you? We've got to look at this. You've got to believe this. You are protected. In that Great Commission that we are given in Matthew 28, Jesus says, "Therefore, as you go, make disciples." The word "therefore", when we see the word "therefore", we have to ask what's it there for?  And it always connects us with what went before. And in the verse before that, Jesus says, "I have been given all authority in Heaven and on earth." Jesus is saying, "There is no one who is more powerful than I am. I have died. I went to hell and conquered death. I have come back in the resurrection. I'm going to ascend to my Father in Heaven in the victory parade. Nothing is stronger than I am. No one has more authority." Do you hear that?

And what's his next word? Therefore (because of that), make disciples. So, we're narrowing it down. All these ordinary, everyday people begin to give their testimony. And they did that because they were commissioned and chosen by Jesus to do that. Then, we see that we are provided for and we are protected by the one who has all authority. What's the biggest thing that could happen to you? What's the worst thing that can happen to you? It will never be bigger. It will never be stronger. It will never be more frightening than the power of Jesus, whose name you utter.