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STAND
1/12/2009
2 Corinthians 4:8,9 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed
Revelation 12:12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
But you’d never know it from visiting most churches. Unfortunately, when we as Christians gather together we often put on what I call our “happy mask.”
“Great! You?” (echoing the smile)
“Great!”
Secretly, every Christian I know today is reeling like a prize fighter in the last rounds of the most grueling match of his life. They’re bleeding and wounded and broken and can’t seem to catch their breath before the next devastating blow lands. They’re like a soldier who has fought one battle after another until it’s a struggle to simply put one foot in front of another. As they fight their way up the next hill they reach the top only to find themselves surrounded on all sides by a vast army with victory being a virtual impossibility.
The Battlefields
The Home Front
Galatians 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
How many families sit in the Sunday morning service eaten up with bitterness and resentment towards their spouse, their parents, or their children? Oh, we carefully hide it while we’re at church but afterwards...GAME ON! It would be more honoring to God if you stayed home and missed church so you could work out the problems and forgive one another from the heart than to pretend to pray and praise God while you’re seething with animosity. The real solution is to never allow things to go that far by always being aware of how much God has forgiven you of and, therefore, forgiving your family member.
Mark 11:25,26 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
When you have a family where some members are born of the Spirit and others are not conflict is inevitable. But unfortunately, these sorts of conflicts are not limited to simply Christian versus non-Christian scenarios. Even in families where everyone knows the Lord it is happening. Why?
And we MUST understand that the enemy is NOT our family members themselves. They, like we are too often, are simply being manipulated by the real Enemy.
2 Corinthians 10:3,4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
Matthew 13:25,39a But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away...and the enemy who sowed them is the devil
John 8:44 ... for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Never before have I heard from so many Christians who are having thoughts of quitting the ministry, who are struggling with depression, who say they feel like crawling in a hole and disappearing, families and brethren who are turning on each other for imaginary reasons...It’s like someone is whispering lies in their ear. And that someone is Satan.
As Ephesians 6:12 says, we battle against spiritual principalities and they are working harder than ever trying to trick people into believing lies about themselves and their brethren that will cripple and destroy them.
Unfortunately, our first reaction to these attacks is usually to seek out the latest psycho-therapy fad or pharmaceutical to treat the symptom instead of acknowledging the Biblical explanation.
We must recognize the fact that this is primarily a spiritual problem. The Dragon plants thoughts in our subconscious mind! Why is that a news flash? Sure there will always be excuses available to rationalize the lie, but we need to understand that behind every distortion the Enemy whispers to us there is a diabolical agenda at work whose sole purpose is to tear us down and tear down those around us. Once we understand that this is one of the ways the Enemy works, we can recognize it the next time it happens and not fall for his lies.
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Revelation 3:1b “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”
Matthew 24:9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”
But the winds of real persecution are beginning to blow here now. I know of people who in the past few months have been beaten and hospitalized for preaching the gospel on a street corner. In the name of tolerance our government continues to pass ever stricter laws that make any denunciation of homosexuality a “hate crime.” Just this week someone emailed me about their YouTube account being erased due to their preaching being labeled “hate speech.” A church in Michigan was disrupted by a group of lesbians who came and started shouting at and pushing church members while two of them went to the pulpit and began to kiss passionately. And with the new hyper-liberal administration taking office you can count on Christianity becoming even more restricted and those who oppose it will be labeled enemies of the state.
But external persecution is not our most serious problem. Our most serious problem comes from within.
Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.
Let’s face it...the divorce rate is just as high in the church as it is in the world. And there’s just as much sexual promiscuity, gossip, people angry over thwarted ambitions, back-stabbing, muttering, and hidden agendas as there are in the world. And Washington doesn’t have anything over the leadership of most churches when it comes to politics and political maneuvering.
It’s sad but true. The number of churches failing increases every day and it’s usually not due to external problems or even economics. It’s almost always due to conflicts from within. And it all stems from our own spiritual immaturity, selfishness, and unwillingness to forgive.
Many who come to church are only interested in having their needs met. And if they don’t find what they’re looking for here there’s another dozen churches down the road. And many of those who go beyond simply warming the pew are only interested in leading and being in the spotlight and doing “great things” for God. And if someone thwarts them in their “fast track” ambitions, it will not soon be forgotten. Few are interested in simply serving and learning to be good followers.
Beloved, we must realize that we no longer have the luxury of coasting along as we are. We must cast off our spiritual adolescence and the sin and disobedience which weighs us down and in faith become the soldiers of God that we are called to be. Our churches will not stand nor will we if we don’t seek God’s face and not stop until He fills us with a passion for the truth, for true worship, for His people, and for taking His message to the world!
Revelation 19:7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Ezekiel 7:19a “They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD.”
But many of us are finding ourselves wondering where we are going to find the money to pay the bills. Many are losing their jobs and their homes. The lines of those seeking assistance from charities are growing longer every day while donations to these organizations are drying up. This economic pressure is adding fuel to all the other battles we face. And churches and ministries are seeing their income shrinking at dramatic rates.
I can’t count the number of messages on tithing and requests for money that I’ve heard over the past month. Funny, isn’t it, how most churches will never preach on repentance or the responsibility that we all have to preach the whole counsel of God to the world but they don’t hesitate to ask for your money? Most of these “ministries” should be allowed to fail because they’re more about “feel good” philosophy than they are about biblical Christianity. But if you’ve been blessed with a church who preaches Christ and Him crucified, then do all you can to help it survive these economic trials.
This is one of those instances where the “rubber meets the road.” Each of us must decide whether we are going to trust God or fearfully grab at every straw like a drowning man. What will you choose?
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Where does such contentment spring from? Paul gives us clues throughout his epistles:
1 Corinthians 6:19,20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Romans 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?
Just A Little Further To Go
It is not an easy time to convert to Christianity. Please forgive us Christians for painting a picture of being born again as some transcendental state where everything is always peaceful and you exist in a bubble of perfect tranquility and joy with no struggles or suffering and the blue bird of happiness rests on your shoulder. You see, most of us really believed that and those who knew the whole truth thought it would scare you away if we told you the rest of the story. There IS a foundation of love and peace and joy which the tribulations of this world cannot touch but access to it only comes through allowing yourself to be nailed to the cross of Jesus. The degree of suffering in the inner man is directly proportional to the extent that you have by faith died to self and become alive to Christ. And there is no bypassing the suffering which accompanies that death...we all must pass through it.
And to those of you who say you know the Lord but are not experiencing any of the trials I’ve described here, you might want to take a good look at whether you are legitimate children of God.
1 Peter 5:9,10 But resist him [the Devil], firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Romans 8:16-19, 22-25 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Revelation 3:11,12a “I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore”
Ephesians 6:13b ...and having done everything, to stand
Know this...if you’re suffering and overwhelmed you are not alone. Christians around the world are enduring attacks of unprecedented intensity. Satan knows that his time is short and he intends to destroy as many as possible before his time is at an end.
“How are you today?!” (accompanied by a broad grin and a hardy handshake)
Somehow we’ve created a culture where it’s considered a social faux pas to be anything other than beaming with joy and good cheer when we meet with other Christians. I think there are many reasons for this; it’s what we have come to expect; people really don’t want to hear all your problems; we don’t want to make ourselves vulnerable by exposing our pain; and we’ve been taught that if you’re not happy then you must not be right with God. We tell ourselves it’s an act of faith when more often than not it’s just a way to hide the truth of what’s really going on in our lives. We think that if everyone knew the burdens that we were really carrying that we would become a social pariah and our brothers and sisters would look on us with the sort of fear and disgust normally reserved for lepers. The end result is that we never even acknowledge much less address our real problems and needs to those who are most able to help us. This is not the way of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
We must learn to open up with one another and share each other’s burdens. Christian services need to stop being pep rallies and start being a time of being honest with God and ourselves.
1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
We need to perform an honest appraisal of the battles that we’re fighting. Not to try and paint an even bleaker picture but to provide clarity to what for many is only a vague sense of anxiety and depression. Telling ourselves “positive” lies in an attempt to treat the symptoms is not the answer. But knowing the truth and responding in faith to the reality of God’s character and provision is!
Matthew 10:34-38 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
As with all things that are gifts from God, Satan loves to take what is most precious to us and against which we have no defense and use them to destroy us.
Matthew 18:32-35 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
But you may say “you don’t understand what they’ve put me through!” You’re right, I don’t. But it doesn’t change what Jesus has commanded us to do...to forgive from the heart in the same way that He has forgiven us.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
How many marriages have been wrecked by unforgiveness? How many men and women of God have been kneecapped and made spiritually ineffective by the venomous tongue of their spouse? How many children have been scarred by growing up in a battlefield instead of a home? How many parents have had their hearts ripped out by rebellious children?
1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Because Satan loves to destroy families and Christian families are at the top of his hit list. Of course, there will always be problems in a family and not every problem is an attack of the Enemy. But when problems are blown out of proportion or imaginary and begin to generate bitterness and resentment and family members refuse to forgive from the heart then Satan has found a foothold in your home. Too often we pretend to forgive only to squirrel away the resentment and bitterness associated so that at some future date we can use it to inflict the maximum amount of pain by pouring it out all over them along with all the rest of our treasured bile. Beloved, we must forgive from the heart...just as God has forgiven us. Otherwise, our relationship with Christ will become just a façade. Like the Pharisees, we will become simply whitewashed sepulchers full of dead men’s bones.
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
This battle can not be won by emotionally isolating ourselves or trying to “win” the argument with our family members. It can only be won by continuing to persevere in faith and forgiveness and love and interceding for them with the Father.
1 Corinthians 13:7b,8a [love] endures all things. Love never fails
However, despite our best efforts and agonizing in prayer and seeking the counsel of more mature Christian friends, our efforts will sometimes fail. Families may be broken or destroyed. This will happen more often as the days grow shorter. It is even more imperative at these times to continue to trust and obey God. Christ warned us that this may happen and that we are to love Him even more than our own families. It seems to hurt more than we can bear but He promises to give us the strength to endure it. And after all is said and done, we must pick up our cross again and continue to follow Him.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
The Mind
Lamentations 3:62 The lips of my assailants and their whispering are against me all day long.
In addition to the blatant temptations which Satan throws at us by barraging us with pornography, violence, narcissism, and greed, there now seems to be a concerted attack directly against the subconscious mind of Christians.
2 Corinthians 2:11 ...so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes
The Church
1 Timothy 4:1,2 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron
The war is long over for most churches. They’re as dead as door nails. And false doctrine is rampant. Oh, they may have thousands attending and have impressive budgets and buildings. But they have sold out the truth of the gospel in the name of effectiveness and pragmatism and they’ve done it for so long that they no longer even realize it anymore. Their consciences have been so seared that the conviction of the Holy Spirit which once warned them that they were entering dangerous territory has become silent. There is no battle here. They won’t miss a beat when the rapture comes and they’ll fit right in with the new ecumenicalism coordinated by the Antichrist. But there is a faithful remnant and they are being assaulted from without and within.
Acts 20:28,29 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock”
Here in the West (and particularly here in the United States), we’ve had it very easy compared to the rest of the world. Our idea of suffering persecution for His name’s sake is having someone make fun of us or finding ourselves on the outside of our social circles. But in other areas of the world our brothers and sisters are even now suffering the loss of family, homes, and freedom for the sake of The Name. Many are being arrested, tortured, and killed for their refusal to give up their faith.
1 Corinthians 3:3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul is not talking about the world. Why would he warn us of these things when it was true of those outside the church even in his day? I believe that he is talking about people in the church in the last days; people who will hold to a form of godliness but deny the true power of God.
1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
Too many of us are in a state of arrested development spiritually. No one blames an infant for whining and getting angry when their needs aren’t met immediately and for wearing a diaper but it’s an embarrassment when you’re 30. The reasons so many of our congregations are “a mile wide and an inch deep” vary. If the Pastor is only serving milk then that’s all that you can expect. But if the Pastor is really digging into the meat of the Word, then the fault lies with ourselves.
2 Timothy 3:7 ... always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Some of us have become “spiritual connoisseurs” and we delight in hearing a particularly good sermon or teacher. Afterwards, these intellectual elite give each other a knowing smile and a wink and go home satisfied that they’re not one of the poor ignorant masses. But the truth that is heard never makes it through to the heart resulting in repentance and changes in behavior.
Acts 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Some of us have simply become dull of hearing. We’ve heard what should be life-changing truths for years but have for one reason or another refused to repent and obey God. Now it’s become simply ritual and our hearts have become calloused.
James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
Those Pastors who desire in their heart to teach the whole counsel of God are frequently finding themselves sidetracked by the requirements of their denomination or their demanding congregation. Those who fall into the trap of putting their congregation or denomination above the call of God find themselves faced with an impossible juggling act. They try to satisfy the spiritual infants while gratifying the “spiritual connoisseurs” and growing the church and its bank account and accommodating everyone’s ambitions and egos and soothing everyone’s hurt feelings and somewhere managing some time for their family and their own relationship with God. No wonder that many of those who have forgotten who is Master of their time and priorities wind up quitting.
Amos 8:1 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD.”
Those days are here. It’s a rare thing to find a church with its priorities in Biblical balance. They may have sound doctrine but they have no passion for evangelizing the world. They may have whole-hearted worship but their doctrine has become bizarre. We live in an age where we support missionaries around the world who have never told the gospel to a single soul and where those who do preach the gospel to the world are mocked from the very pulpits of their brothers and sisters. If you have found a church that is sound in doctrine, where the people truly love and care for each other, that does not mistake emotion for God’s presence but is unafraid of worshipping God with complete abandon, and is preaching the whole counsel of God to the world then you have found a very precious thing! Consider yourself blessed!
Hebrews 12:1,2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Economics
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.
The world is in the midst of an unprecedented economic meltdown. Christians around the globe (and particularly here in the USA) are learning a hard lesson right now. Those who have trusted in their 401Ks and their savings to provide for their future have suddenly found themselves empty-handed. And those who derived their identity from their income level or their career don’t know who they are now that they are unemployed.
Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.
If we put Jesus and the things that are important to Him as the highest priorities in our life, then we can trust God to provide the material things that we need in this life! It doesn’t mean that we will be rich or that there won’t be fluctuations in income and lifestyle, but that He will provide what we need.
Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Notice that there were times when Paul had to make do with humble means and times when he went hungry. And we may well find ourselves in such circumstances.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
He is the Potter...we are the clay. We have been bought with a price and our lives are no longer our own. God will use us as He sees fit to work out His plan and to bring glory to Himself. And if we have died to self and what we value most is God’s glory and if we trust His promises that He will glorify Himself through us, then we will be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. He may choose to glorify Himself through prospering us immensely. Or He may in His wisdom choose to glorify Himself through our suffering. In either case, we must humbly acknowledge his sovereignty over us and be content with the knowledge that He is working out His will.
Isaiah 46:8-10 For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’
And, yes, as Romans 8:28 says “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” But we must understand that God sees all things from an eternal point of view. We may not see the “good” that is being accomplished in every circumstance in this life. It may be that we will not understand the benefit until we see Him face-to-face...if then.
Hebrews 12:5-8 you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
But to my brothers and sisters who are enduring with me, I want to encourage you to stand and realize that you are not alone. God is sovereign and He is working out His plan. He told us in His Word that all these things must take place. And He promised never to leave or forsake you. This year may hold suffering and loss for all of us and the Prophets have told us that the days will grow very dark before the revelation of the Light. Endure...persevere...stand...we have only a little further to go.
1 Peter 4:12,13 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.