INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Today we are going to examine another fear that can stop us in our tracks.
• I am almost ashamed and almost decided not to cover this topic because of the fact as of now, in the United States, we have no clue what this looks like.
• However, around the world, Christians are being persecuted for their faith.
• Let me share a few stats with you that should drive you to your knees in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.
• These numbers come to us from Open Door, a ministry that brings awareness to the persecution of Christians in over 60 countries around the world. https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/christian-persecution-by-the-numbers/?/?initcid=19SRP4&initpkg=19SRP4-0&cid=7010b000001kd4HAAQ&pkg=a150b0000045WY6AAM&keyword=christian%20world&b&g&326181550234&1t1&c&1674535876&65414701375&gclid=CjwKCAjwxaXtBRBbEiwAPqPxcAldV4Hlza3dDy9-xPQvoi1pyEsyyFZ-kNqCth9eyAHDYvsJzx1L8xoCp54QAvD_BwE
• SLIDE #2 MAP
• 245 Million: In the top 50 World Watch List countries alone, 245 million Christians in the world experience high levels of persecution for their choice to follow Christ.
• 1 in 9: Christians worldwide experience high levels of persecution
• 14%: The rise in the number of Christians in the top 50 countries on the 2019 World Watch List (WWL) who experience high levels of persecution. (from the 2018 reporting period to 2019’s)
• 4,136: Christians killed for faith-related reasons in the top 50 WWL countries.
• 2,625: Christians detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned in the top 50 WWL countries.
• 1,266: churches or Christian buildings attacked in the top 50 WWL countries.
• 7 out of 9: In seven of the countries in the World Watch List’s top 10, the primary cause of persecution is Islamic oppression.
• 11: countries scoring in the “extreme” level for their persecution of Christians. Five years ago, North Korea was the only one.
• Every Month
• 105: churches attacked, burned or vandalized each month, in the top 50 WWL countries
• Every Day
• 11: Christians killed every day for their faith, in the top 50 WWL countries.
• By the Continent
• 1 out of 6: Christians in Africa that experience high levels of persecution.
• 1 out of 3: Christians in Asia that experience high levels of persecution.
• 1 out of 21: Christians in South America who experience high levels of persecution.
• We are blessed in the USA not to experience these things, yet many Christians will back down from doing what God calls us to do because we are fearful of being made fun of, losing relationships, or being outcast by people.
• Often the anticipation of pain is just as bad (or worse) than actually feeling the pain itself.
• Let me give you an example, and this is a PSA also.
• COLONOSCOPY!
• I was DREADING having this done, it was five years ago, but it seems like yesterday.
• I was dreading the prep, the procedure, the recovery.
• None of it was terrible at all, now I am not anxious to id done again in five years, but I will not dread it.
• In the same way, we can be anxious about how painful suffering for Christ might turn out to be, or we can trust God to give us the strength to remain faithful in the hour we need it.
• Today we are going to look at three areas that, if we put our trust in, can help us stand firmly for our faith and to carry out our calling without fear faithfully!
• Our main thought today is, persecution is a normal part of Christian life, but God will accomplish his purposes even through our pain.
• Let’s begin with 2 Timothy 3:10-13
• SLIDE #3
• 2 Timothy 3:10–13 (CSB) — 10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, 11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. 12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
I. Trust God. (10-13)
• He will protect you!
• One of the things we need to do so that we will not succumb to the fear of persecution is trusting God; we can trust God because He will protect you.
• In this letter to his spiritual son Timothy, Paul reminds him that pain and persecution are a normal part of the Christian life.
• He recalls his own suffering because of the message of Christ, as well as the Lord’s hand in rescuing him through every situation (vv. 10–11).
• Paul warns Timothy that persecution is a guarantee for everyone who lives a godly life in Christ Jesus (v. 12).
• Paul tried to encourage Timothy not to fall in the face of persecution by talking about things that happen in his life.
• In the context of this passage, Paul was seeking Timothy to stand firm in the face of the false teachers who were actively trying to destroy the work of God.
• Paul was persecuted for standing up for the truth of Jesus.
• So, Paul lays out nine things Timothy knew about Paul in verses 10-11
• Timothy knew the content of Paul's teachings. Paul taught the truth versus the lie the false teachers would spread.
• Timothy knew Paul’s conduct or way of life. He knew that Paul’s life was consistent with what he believed about Jesus!
• He knew Paul’s purpose to live for and to spread the gospel of Jesus. Paul never let opposition cause him to deviate from the mission of reaching the lost!
• Timothy saw the faith, patience, love, and endurance that Paul showed as he carried out his calling even while suffering.
• Paul talked about the persecutions and suffering he endured because of carrying out his calling.
• Persecutions refer to the act of organizing a systematic program of harassment and opposition.
• Sufferings are the hardships that spring from the persecutions.
• What drove Paul to keep going?
• The Greek in verse 11 is EMPHATIC when he speaks of the persecutions he suffered.
• There was no quit in Paul despite what he had to endure.
• Verse 11 tells us that Paul confidently states that the Lord delivered him from ALL of them.
• It would be easy to think that because of all the persecutions Paul faced that he was not following God’s will; however, Paul did not see it that way!
• The Lord did not step in and stop the unpleasant things from happening; He helped deliver Paul from the persecutions!
• In every instance God delivered him, Jesus protected His servant and never left him alone!
• Acts 18:9-10 is an example.
• SLIDE #5
• Acts 18:9–10 (CSB) — 9 The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”
• There were times he endured the persecution, but God was with him!
• When we trust God, we do not have to fear with others may try to do to us!
• Paul tells us that persecution is part of what a follower of Christ can expect to endure and that those who will try to do it will go from bad to worse, deceiving, and being deceived!
• SLIDE #6
• 2 Timothy 3:14–15 (CSB) — 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
• SLIDE #7
II. Trust your training. (14-15)
• It will keep you grounded!
• One of the things that will dispel the fear of persecution is trust in what you have learned, trust in your training because it will keep you grounded!
• Timothy is encouraged to continue in what he learned from Paul and to remain loyal to the teaching he received even in his youth.
• His mother and Grandmother brought him up in the Word.
• SLIDE #8
• 2 Timothy 1:5 (CSB) — 5 I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.
• Paul reminds Timothy to think of those who taught him, those who trusted in the Word, trust in God.
• We cannot let anything to cause us to toss our convictions aside! We owe it to those who taught us, and we have to build our life on the solid foundation of the Word!
• Timothy FIRMLY believed, which means he believed in the past and holds on to it now and in the future!
• We are told in verse 15 that the Scriptures can give you the wisdom for salvation, so why would you leave it?
• The present tense of the thought, which is able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, indicates the ever-present power of the Scriptures on the human heart.
• The Holy Scriptures had not completed their work on Timothy when, in childhood, he mastered their contents; the work was still ongoing!
• This is part of the reason, as parents, you have to instill a biblical foundation into your children!
• Teach them when they are young, and they will not depart from it, not only teach them, but the real impact on them will happen when they see you live it!
• Let’s turn to verses 16-17
• SLIDE #9
• 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB) — 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
• SLIDE #10
III. Trust the Word. (16-17)
• It will prepare you!
• I have covered the passage a few times, so I will not dig super deep into it.
• We are told that all scripture, that is, Genesis to Revelation, is inspired by God.
• The term INSPIRED means GOD-BREATHED!
• God’s Word will prepare you because it is of divine origin!
• The Bible itself is a result of God’s action!
• This explains how this collection of books written over a 1500 plus year span by 40 authors from various backgrounds, written in different places at different times on three continents, in three languages, with a variety of literary styles, all fits together as one!
• The Word of God will teach, convict, correct, and train.
• It will equip us for everything we are called to do!
• Verse 17 expresses the purpose for which God intended the Scriptures to be used. It also reveals the result of incorporating the Word into one's life!
• When the Scriptures are handled accurately, they will give one all they need to be prepared to serve the Lord no matter what hits them!
• The Word will prepare you!
CONCLUSION
• We do not have to let the fear of persecution stop us from reaching the lost world for Jesus!
• As Christians, we live at “ground zero” in a broken world.
• We are surrounded by people who are in peril because they don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
• We are called to be like first responders in an emergency: we must engage and rescue in spite of our personal risk or discomfort.
• We can overcome the fear of persecution by trusting God, trusting on our training, and equipping ourselves with his Word.
