Video Transcript: Lesson 10 Exploring Further

Hi, welcome to Christian basics as we explore further in lesson 10 on what the Bible teaches  about suffering, and persecution, the material is mostly written by Dr. Ed Roels and I'm David  Feddes, presenting that material with some additional thoughts of my own. Question one, II  Timothy 3:12, says that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Is  this true for every believer? In some parts of the world, most Christians would immediately  answer this question with a strong Yes. In other parts of the world, many Christians would  probably say no, in their own lives, they experienced little or no obvious persecution, and may even be rewarded in some ways because of their honesty, faithfulness to their spouses,  friendliness, and hard work. In general, however, living openly and consistently for Christ will  eventually arouse enmity or opposition of one kind or another. Christians may be mocked on  occasion because they do not participate in certain activities or attend certain places of  entertainment. They may also be ridiculed for their refusal to go along with the crowd, in some of the group activities at school or at work. They may also be considered Bible fanatics. If they talk to other people about the Bible or read the Bible during their lunch hour or free time. They may be called derogatory names because of their Clean Language, refusal to drink alcoholic  beverages or gamble, they may be considered radicals because they attend church faithfully.  Observe a special day of the week as a day that's holy unto the Lord, give generously to their  church or mission organizations, and participate in marches or promote pro life activities, or  other Christian causes. Christians who never face any kind of obvious persecution or  opposition may simply be living in a strong Christian environment. However, there may also  be many situations where a Christian is not persecuted in a way because he or she is not  pursuing a distinctively Christian lifestyle, and therefore does not stand out in the crowd of  unbelievers. If you live in a country, where there's officially freedom of religion, then you may  not face government persecution for your faith, but you may still face other kinds of  persecution, perhaps from family members who do not follow the ways of the Lord. Or  perhaps when you're in a setting where your friends want you to go to a drunken party, or  someone is trying to get you to do something you know to be wrong, then you're not being  burned at the stake, but you are being persecuted or mocked or belittled for following the  Lord. And if you never in your whole life, have ever faced any kind of opposition for saying  what is true or doing what is right, then you really do need to ask some pretty challenging  questions. Question two, can you give any personal examples of being persecuted because  you are a Christian? If you are a Christian, think about times when you experience trouble  because of your faith. What was hardest about that? What blessings did you experience I can remember a number of different occasions, and I can remember just being in school or being  with friends and, and being mocked because I didn't want to go and get drunk with some  others. I can remember different type of persecution when I was traveling with a group that  was evangelizing to a people group that didn't really like the gospel very much. And eggs are  thrown at us a fire hose was shot at us. Some of us were physically attacked by angry people. Other times, it wasn't necessarily just persecution as such for the faith. But I remember being  in another country, and driving back after a day of preaching in various villages, and driving  through the dark. And my driver was very concerned about somebody who was pursuing us  behind and, and was concerned that they were going to try to attack us I remember men  without with guns, who were trying to break into the compound I was staying in while I was  there, so there was a variety of reasons. And they may not have been actually trying to  oppress us because they were Christians. They may have just wanted to attack us and rob  us. But when you're in the course of doing Christ's work in difficult situations, sometimes you'll face that sort of thing. Sometimes it's very dangerous. Sometimes it may feel kind of mild if  you just tell somebody about it. But if you're a kid at school, trying to do the right thing it can  feel about like you're going to be burned at the stake if all of the people in the social group are

going to mock you. So there are different levels of persecution at different stages of life and  different situations. Think about it ones that perhaps you have been through and what was  hard about it, what was scary about it, what God did to help you grow and make you bolder  and closer to him through it. If you seldom or never faced difficulties for being a Christian,  consider whether your lifestyle might not be much different from unbelievers. And whether you might not be sharing your faith or standing up for what's right. If you do not experience  persecution, and the reason for that is because you live in a strong Christian environment.  Well, that's wonderful if you're in a region where most people either are Christians are have  high respect for Christian values. Well, that may be great, but God might call you to step  beyond that safe environment and get closer to the front lines of bringing God's kingdom into  hostile territory. I know from my years of being on the radio, when you're speaking the gospel, and speaking of Christian living, with a whole bunch of people hearing in a whole bunch of  different situations and religious backgrounds, or no religion at all, I could get a lot of nasty  things said to me, and a lot of nasty things said about me because people disagreed with me  so strongly. And if you bring the gospel to those who do not yet accept it, you are almost sure  to run into some difficulty, at some point. Question three. Wouldn't it be much better for us if  we never experienced any suffering or trials or persecution in our lives might indeed be easier for us in some ways, but it would not necessarily be better. Persecution often strengthens our  faith helps us to examine our lives to see what is really most important in life. The last is us to  know the others look up to us as sincere followers of Jesus, and challenges others to  examine their own lives. Standing strong in the face of persecution, increases our boldness to witness brings glory and praise to God, it creates joy in our hearts. And it causes us to trust in  the Lord, rather than in our own abilities for provision protection, and the things we need for  daily living. So it might be easier, that far from better if our lives just always went exactly the  way we wished they would. Question Four. Why would anyone think he's offering a service to  God if he killed Christians? Because that's exactly what Jesus said in John 16:2, every time is coming, when anyone who kills you will think he's offering a service to God. Now, why would  that be? Many non Christians believe that Christians are deceiving people. They're teaching  false things about God, are dishonouring God by teaching that Jesus is the eternal Son of  God, and leading people into all kinds of heretical and false teachings that lead them away  from God rather than to God. There are religions that deny that Jesus is the Son of God, or  deny that Jesus is divine at all. Some religions deny that Jesus ever died and rose again. And they think that it's deadly to teach that and so they oppose and sometimes even kill those who teach that there are religions that deny there's any God at all that religion, I guess he wouldn't call it religion, but I still think of it as a religion is atheism. And communism was an atheistic  religion where it worshipped its unbelief. And it oftentimes persecuted Christians and even  killed Christians. There were Christians in Russia, priests who are nailed to the doors of their  churches and then doused with water and left there to freeze outside in the worst times of the  communist persecutions. In Albania, a communist country, the penalty officially it wasn't just  unofficial, the official penalty for being a Christian was death. By the way, that's the country  that Mother Teresa, one of the most saintly Christians of the 20th century came from. So even where Satan is doing his worst, God is raising up people have great devotion to Him. Now,  remember that the apostle Paul himself felt that way that he'd be doing God a favor if he killed Christians, and therefore he hounded and persecuted believers. He even had Stephen killed,  he had others in prison. He was trying to stamp out the Christian faith and he thought he was  doing it because God wanted him to. Even Jesus himself was crucified because the Jewish  leaders accused him of blasphemy a great sin against God, when He taught that he was the  son of God. Today, non Christians in some countries believe that Christians are insulting God  and spreading false teachings concerning him. So they put Christians to death in their own 

minds and hearts. They sincerely believe that they're pleasing and serving God. When they  kill Christians. Some of them even have a doctrine that if you die in a war against a Christian  country, you You will automatically go to heaven. Question five? Will those who suffer  persecution in this life for Christ's sake, receive greater glory and greater reward in heaven? If so, what will this glory or reward be like? The Bible does seem to teach that those who suffer  persecution for Christ's sake will receive some kind of special reward in their future life. Read, for example, what Jesus says in Matthew 5:11, or Luke 6:22-23 says great will be your reward in heaven. However, the Bible doesn't explain specifically what this glory or crown or reward  will be like, all believers will share in the glory and joy of being with Jesus for eternity. And this joy and glory will be far greater than anything any of us have ever experienced on Earth. It's  difficult to explain therefore, how one person might have greater joy or blessing than another,  they may well be some persons in heaven, who will have special authority of one kind or  another. But there will be no jealousy, pride or envy of any kind. So if one person gets a  greater reward than I do, I'm not gonna be sitting there in heaven saying, Oh, I wish that I was getting all those rewards, I'll just be glad that God is rewarding them and recognizing that God is rightly giving them a greater reward than he's giving me maybe one way to think of it would  be in terms of military service, let's say that you were in a very, very difficult battle, and you  were wounded, and you suffered much. But it turned out to be one of the key battles. That  was the turning point in preserving freedom and liberating people. And let's say somebody  else who rightly behaved nobly in the military, but they never were involved in any kind of  conflict at all. Were never in harm's way. They served for a number of years, and then they  were released from the military. Now, they get together at some gathering, celebrating the  bravery of those who have served now the person who served and never had to go into any  difficult situation is honored. But the person who actually paid the higher price may feel that  they were truly more deeply involved in that cause. And it may be so in heaven to where God  isn't necessarily going to heap greater riches or greater authority, though he might that might  be part of the reward. But maybe part of the reward is just knowing I was there, I was part of  the really intense action, and God counted me worthy to suffer greater things for the cause  than some other people had to suffer. And now I'm rejoicing even more in God's victory than I  otherwise might have. At any rate, whatever the reward is going to be, and that's up to God,  it's sufficient for us to know that the Bible has promised that the reward will be there, even if  we can't fully understand what it will be like, our greatest joy will not be our personal position  or honor, but the blessing and privilege of spending eternity with Jesus in a world of perfect  peace and delight. And there are many passages in the Bible that speak about that. Question  six believers often experienced trials or suffering that are not directly related to persecution.  Do you think these trials and sufferings will result in spiritual growth? Will they possibly also  result in greater rewards in heaven? If so? Do you think the reward will depend on how we  respond to our trials in this life? The Bible may not give a specific answer to the question  about future rewards in heaven, but it does clearly indicate that earthly afflictions often result  in spiritual growth even if those afflictions weren't directly persecution. In general, anything we do, or any suffering we endure in a way that honors Christ will bring praise to Him and may  possibly also result in some kind of special reward in heaven. However, our primary emphasis in all of this should not be on ourselves and our possible future rewards, but on Christ, who is  the author and source of everything good in our lives, to Him belong the glory and honor and  praise, both now and forever? Now, when when we think about this question of suffering,  that's not directly persecution, we have to realize that sometimes suffering is persecution,  even when it's not. You say, Well, that's kind of weird. Well, I want to point you back to the  book of Job. In the book of Job, he suffered terrible physical illness. He lost his children to a  terrible windstorm. He lost his property and many of those who worked for him to attacks from

invaders who weren't persecuting him for being a follower of God, but we're just pillaging and  stealing and murdering. So it wasn't necessarily directly persecution. Or was it? Because  behind the scenes behind all the humans doing that bad stuff and behind the storm that  destroyed the house where Job's children were was Satan himself. So sometimes even if  humans aren't persecuting us, the bad things that are coming at us may still be attacks from  Satan, that are directed at us because we love the Lord because Satan was angry. And he  was trying to prove that Job wasn't really loyal to the Lord. Now, in all of that, it was  persecution out of the human level, the persecution from Satan, that I want to know to want  you to notice how it turned out. At the end of it all, after Job went through many questions and sufferings, and even complaints to God, he said, this, I had heard of you, Lord, with a hearing  of the ear. And now my eyes have seen you through all of that devastating stuff. When God  showed up, it was enough for Job. And when we go through hardships, whether they're  persecution from enemy humans that we know of whether it's behind the scenes persecution  from Satan, and other hardships that come into our life, God's ultimate purpose in the life of  the believer is what we once heard, will now enter more fully into our experience that we will  be drawn closer to God, and closer to Jesus, in the fellowship of His suffering, and in the  fellowship of His resurrection. Question seven. Can you think of any examples in your own life or in the life of someone you know, in which trials and persecution resulted in spiritual  blessings already in this life? Well, hardship is meant for our good. And that's not just theory,  not just words, it's reality. So reflect on your own experience. And recall testimonies from  others paying close attention to ways that God has brought blessings, through troubles I've  mentioned, seeing dying people giving their testimony to the Lord. I've been involved in prison ministry. And I've heard from people who said, Thank God, for prison, because it's there that I  finally realize how stupid I've been, and how rotten my life is becoming. And that's where I  cried out to the Lord. I remember someone saying, Actually, prison saved my life, because he  was on a road that was just totally self destructive in drugs and wickedness. And in prison, he  came to his senses. And so, there are many different circumstances in which people who  were far from the Lord had been drawn to him through their afflictions. And those who were  already followers of Jesus, have been drawn closer to him. I pray that that's true of you.  Sometimes, the very hardest things, the most painful things can at the same time, be the  moments when we are closest to God. Maybe the very hardest time in my life, at least thus  far, was when I held my daughter in my arms and watched her die. That was the hardest,  probably thing that's ever happened to me, and the time when I felt closest to heaven, in all of my life. And so I don't know what sufferings you've been through. But I do encourage you and  invite you just reflect. Were the hard times just a waste were they nothing but misery and  pain, or was God there? And did you draw closer to Him through those things? Question  Eight. How should we respond to persons who treat us unfairly simply because we're  Christians? We should definitely not return evil for evil. Nor should we immediately try to find  weaknesses or failures in another person's life and focus on those in order to take the  pressure off ourselves. See all those persecutors are so bad, I'm so mad at them. And I can  find all kinds of things to criticize about them, well, maybe so. But you don't need to do that.  Just face what needs changing in your own life. Ask the Lord to help you keep growing and  changing. And then pray for those who pick on you. If it's possible for you to discuss your faith openly and calmly with someone who's treating you unfairly. prayerfully take advantage of that opportunity. Most often, however, that probably won't be possible. Depending on your  situation circumstances, it might be possible to discuss your situation with a person of  authority who can help you find an amicable solution, your situation. And if you're being  attacked in a country where assault is illegal, then you can go to the authorities. The apostle  Paul was a Roman citizen. And when he was unlawfully beaten, he said, Did you know I'm a 

Roman citizen, you better not do that. Again. You better not do to that to the other Roman  citizens in this town. So he was willing to appeal to authority and say, Hey, I've got my rights  as a citizen in this land. And, and so too, I know of Christians who run into persecution of a  particular group of people witnessing and they face death threats and attacks and they said  we never fight back. But sometimes if somebody prosecutes if somebody actually punches us and attacks us, we'll prosecute them under the law, we'll have them arrested because they're  breaking the law and committing a crime. So they don't punch back themselves. But if  somebody is breaking the law, then they're held accountable to the law of the land. So  perfectly take advantage of what opportunity you can, where there are people in authority to  help you without doing unnecessary harm to yourself or to others who may be involved. Also,  in the spirit of Christ, you should seek to return good for evil, and pray for the person or  persons involved. You may possibly be able to quietly do something helpful and positive for  somebody who's treating you poorly. You have opportunities to be kind to somebody and  oftentimes that will shatter their heart and win them over. But not always. It's important to  remember that you like Jesus Himself will not necessarily be well received by others, no  matter what you do, in that situation, simply commend the entire matter to the Lord. And  patiently and prayerfully wait for his leading and his guidance. Question Nine. How is your  prayer life affected when you pray for healing or freedom from trials and persecution? But  God does not heal you or keep you from being persecuted? Well, this is a very challenging  question that each of us must deal with personally. Throughout history, many believers who  prayed sincerely were not healed. And many Christians who prayed sincerely were not spared from persecution or doubt. Both the Bible itself and the history of the church demonstrate that  one of the clearest examples of that is, is right in Acts 12. The apostle James is arrested by  Herod just to please a political constituency, and James has had his head chopped off. Then  Peter is arrested and Herod is intending to do the same thing to him. But the church is praying for Peter and Peter is rescued by an angel and set free. Now they prayed in both cases, but  one died, the other left and we do not know why. We know that God has His purposes and  also that we can't always figure them out. believers should recognize whoever that God  promises that He will never leave or forsake His people James when his head was chopped  off, went straight to be with Jesus in heaven, Stephen, when he was pelted with rocks went  straight to be with Jesus in heaven. And the Lord will bring glory to those who die either from  sickness or from persecution or in any other way, we should not behave as though God has  failed us if we die. We believe in the One who conquered death. We believe that to be absent  from the body is to be at home with the Lord. So let's not pretend that it's this terrible defeat,  when our prayer for deliverance or healing is not answered. But when instead, we are  something we love is taken to be directly with the Lord. God's purposes are sometimes  accomplished most powerfully, by those who remain faithful, even when they are not healed,  or delivered. I remember the story of a missionary who told people the power of prayer in the  village that he was trying to reach, and hardly any of them were Christians. And then he was  asked to pray for a particular child who was very sick, and he prayed and he prayed. He said,  Lord, please let this child live. Please let this child live. So they can see that you're the healer  and that they'll come to a savior. He prayed and he prayed, for the child died. And shortly after that, the whole village came to faith in Jesus Christ. Because they said, Well, we've seen that  when you Christians prayed for a child and it died, you still loved your Lord. And that must be  a wonderful Lord, when you keep loving them even when you don't always get what you  wanted. They said they're used to sorcerers and magicians who sometimes get for people  what they want by whatever methods, but it was the death of that child and not the healing of  that child that brought them to the Lord. Now the Lord knows each situation. So we've got to  entrust ourselves with care, even when it's heartbreaking, even when our minds are utterly at 

a loss to figure out what's going on. Since the ultimate goal in our lives is that God may be  glorified through us, we should continue to trust in the Lord while also continuing to pray.  Hebrews 11 speaks of many victories. It says By faith, the heroes of faith won many victories.  And it goes on in that vein for quite a while but then, later in the chapter, it says will some  were sawed in two some were fed to wild animals. Some were exiled and lived in caves, and  they were seeking a better resurrection. So we read of these victory but it also refers to many  people who suffered greatly, and did not receive a victory in this life, but received greater  reward and the resurrection. So remember, Jesus himself also prayed earnestly for a way to  avoid his death on the cross. But God conquered sin through Jesus death. Rather than  sparing Jesus from death, God's ultimate purposes will surely be accomplished. Though  faithful followers of Jesus may have to suffer much from sickness, trials, poverty, or  persecution, but through it all, God will be glorified. And in one way or another, all those who  trust in Him will also ultimately share in His glory. Question 10? In what ways would you be  different if you were never sick? or injured or in pain? Do you think you'd be more fruitful,  more joyful and a better witness? If everything in life went the way you want it? Give the  reasons for your answer. Well, that's a question that only you can answer. Most of us, though, have to admit that we can be pretty grumpy and discontented even when we're healthy. And  when most things are going well for us, let's face it. We're not always contented, happy. Just  because everything seems to be going well, we can always think of one more thing we want  or actually a lot more things we want. On the other hand, most of us recognize that our minds  were most focused on God and our faith was exercise most strongly. When we faced  difficulties that we could not handle in our own strength. A great many Christians testify that  their greatest spiritual growth occurred when they went through hard times. And so if you're  going through hard times, don't be discouraged. If you're somebody who has just become a  Christian recently, and you're worried about the hard times that you might face from your  family, from some friends or associates or in your work, do not be afraid. Trust in the Lord  Jesus Christ, there may be a price to pay for following him. But there is a tremendous reward  to be gained as you suffer with your Lord, in order that you may also be glorified with your  Lord.