WHEN IT COMES TO OUR FAITH AND ESPECIALLY MINISTERING IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, IT STILL CAN MAKE US CRINGE, IF NOT BRISTLE INSIDE, WHEN WE HEAR OTHERS DEMAND THAT WE BE MORE TOLERANT, SENSITIVE, PROGRESSIVE AND INCLUSIVE.
THE WORLD IS NO DIFFERENT TODAY THAN IT HAS BEEN FOR PAST SOCIETIES, GENERATIONS, OR TIME ERAS IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY. SOLOMON SAID IT BEST IN ECCLESIASTES 1:9, “WHAT HAS BEEN WILL BE AGAIN, WHAT HAS BEEN DONE WILL BE DONE AGAIN; THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN.”
THE FACT IS CLEAR: WHEN WE WITNESS AND MINISTER FOR JESUS CHRIST TO OTHERS IN A LOVING, PATIENT, AND ENDURING WAY, IT CAN STILL BE VERY DIFFICULT, CHALLENGING, AND OFFENSIVE TO THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW JESUS PERSONALLY.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:18 (CEV), “THE MESSAGE ABOUT THE CROSS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO LOST PEOPLE. BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE BEING SAVED, IT IS GOD'S POWER AT WORK.”
SATAN ENGINEERS THIS WORLD TO EXHAUST ISELF TRYING TO PREVENT THE GOSPEL FROM REACHING THE LOST. SATAN DOES NOT WANT THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO REACH ANYONE. HE WILL STOP AT ANYTHING TO KEEP THE GOOD NEWS FROM SPREADING.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:4, “SATAN, WHO IS THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, HAS BLINDED THE MINDS OF THOSE WHO DON’T BELIEVE. THEY ARE UNABLE TO SEE THE GLORIOUS LIGHT OF THE GOOD NEWS….” 1 PETER 5:8, “STAY ALERT! WATCH OUT FOR YOUR GREAT ENEMY, THE DEVIL. HE PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION, LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR.”
PAUL KNEW FIRST-HAND WHAT SATAN WAS CAPABLE OF DOING AND THE COST HE WOULD NEED TO PAY FOR BEING AN OUTSPOKEN AMBASSIDOR FOR JESUS CHRIST. HE WROTE OF IT IN 1 CORINTHIANS 4:10-13, “WE ARE FOOLS FOR CHRIST…TO THIS VERY HOUR WE GO HUNGRY AND THIRSTY, WE ARE IN RAGS, WE ARE BRUTALLY TREATED, WE ARE HOMELESS….
WHEN WE ARE CURSED, WE BLESS; WHEN WE ARE PERSECUTED, WE ENDURE IT; WHEN WE ARE SLANDERED, WE ANSWER KINDLY. UP TO THIS MOMENT WE HAVE BECOME THE SCUM OF THE EARTH, THE REFUSE OF THE WORLD.”
IT CAN BE DISCOURAGING AND EVEN SCARY AT TIMES WHEN WE SHARE OUR FAITH IN JESUS WITH OTHERS AND THEY NOT ONLY REJECT IT, BUT THREATEN US, LAUGH AT US, OR FILE COMPLAINTS OR CHARGES AGAINST US FOR THE MESSAGE WE BRING TO THEM.
I FIND IT RATHER SHOCKING THAT ANYONE COULD REJECT A GIFT THAT IS SO WONDERFUL AND WHY THEY COULD WALK AWAY WITHOUT ACCEPTING THE GOSPEL THAT PROVIDES HOPE, JOY, LOVE, PEACE, FORGIVENESS, REDEMPTION, AND ETERNAL LIFE.
THE APPREHENSION WE FEEL OF POSSIBLY INVITING RIDICULE, REJECTION AND HOSTILITY CAN TEMPT US INTO BELIEVING THAT THERE’S TOO HIGH OF A RISK AND IT’S NOT WORTH SHARING THE GOSPEL IF WE ARE JUST GOING TO END UP HURT OR INJURED.
THAT REALITY OF SUCH EVIL AGAINST US IS THE VERY REASON WE NEED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL IN THE FIRST PLACE! HELPING THOSE IN DARKNESS TO SEE, UNDERSTAND, AND COME INTO THE LIGHT OF GOD’S LOVE THROUGH HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST IS WHY WE ENDURE THE UGLINESS OF PERSECUTION.
JESUS AFFIRMED THIS IN MARK 2:17, “THOSE WHO ARE WELL HAVE NO NEED OF A PHYSICIAN, BUT THOSE WHO ARE SICK. I CAME NOT TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS.” WE MUST NOT ALLOW OUR WITNESS TO BECOME SO LIMITED THAT JESUS IS NO LONGER UNDERSTOOD AS “THE WAY” BUT JUST “A WAY” AMONGST ALL OTHER “POSSIBILITES” AND “THEORIES” OF WHAT LIES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MORTAL LIFE.
I WOULD IMAGINE THE PROPHET, JEREMIAH, PROBABLY FELT THE SAME WAY AND FACED THE SAME ANXIETIES OVER THREE THOUSAND YEARS AGO. THE PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND THEIR REGARD FOR ANY DEITY HAD BECOME SOURED.
HE HAD EXHAUSTED HIMSELF DELIVERING GOD’S MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE, PLEADING WITH THEM, AND PRAYING FOR THEM, BUT NOTHING SEEMED TO BE DOING ANY GOOD. FROM JEREMIAH’S VIEW, THEIR HEARTS WERE LIKE STONE, HEAVY, HARD AND UNCHANGING.
THERE COMES A POINT WHEN EVEN GOOD PEOPLE BECOME DISCOURAGED ENOUGH TO CONSIDER JUST QUITTING. NOTICE HIS WORDS IN JEREMIAH 20:9: "IF I SAY, 'I WILL NOT MENTION HIM OR SPEAK ANY MORE IN HIS NAME....'" JEREMIAH WAS OPENING HIS HEART TO GOD AND EXPRESSING THE DEPTH OF HIS INNER EMOTIONS. HE WANTED TO QUIT AND NEVER MENTION GOD AGAIN.
HE HAD BECOME WEARIED FROM HAVING OTHERS REJECT THE MESSAGE HE PREACHED. HE WAS EXHAUSTED FROM BEING RIDICULED, INSULTED, AND SNEERED AT. HE FOUND NO JOY IN BECOMING KNOWN AS THE LAUGHINGSTOCK OF THE COMMUNITY.
HE WENT AS FAR AS TO INSINUATE THAT GOD HAD ACTUALLY LURED HIM INTO BECOMING A PROPHET AND BY BEING DECEIVED BY GOD IS WHAT LED HIM TO BEING MOCKED AND RIDICULED. HE HAD GIVEN SO MUCH OF HIMSELF TO FAITHFULLY WARN THE PEOPLE OF THE COMING VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION ONLY TO BE REWARDED WITH INSULTS, THREATS, AND RIDICULE.
JEREMIAH PROBABLY CRIED OUT, “SO, THIS IS THE ‘THANKS’ I GET?’” HE IS DISCOURAGED AND IS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING JUST “CALLING IT QUITS” BY WITHHOLDING GOD’S WORD IN ORDER TO AVOID FURTHER PERSECUTION AND REJECTION.
SO, HE DID! HE QUIT, BUT ONLY FOR A SEASON. AS THE SCRIPTURES SHOW US, JEREMIAH GOES ON TO SAY: " BUT WHEN [I] STIFLED AND SUPPRESSED THE MESSAGE OF GOD, [I] WAS LIKE A CONTAINER FILLED WITH HOT STEAM, READY TO EXPLODE. HIS WORD IS IN MY HEART LIKE A FIRE, A FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES. I AM WEARY OF HOLDING IT IN; INDEED, I CANNOT."
JEREMIAH KNEW THAT NO AMOUNT OF PERSECUTION OR DISCOURAGEMENT COULD HOLD BACK THE POWER OF GOD WORKING IN AND THROUGH HIM. SUCH THINGS HAVE NO POWER OR AUTHORITY IN THE PRESENCE OF ALMIGHTY GOD. THE WORD OF GOD WOULDN'T STAY PUT WITHIN JEREMIAH ANY LONGER.
HE SOON FOUND OUT THAT HE COULD NOT DENY HIS MISSION TO BE ONE OF GOD’S PROPHETS. HE COULD NOT DENY HIS CALLING BECAUSE HE FOUND NO OTHER SATISFACTION IN HIS LIFE OTHER THAN TO PREACH AND PROCLAIM GOD’S TRUTH TO OTHERS.
HE RAN HEAD-ON INTO AN UNDENIABLE REALITY: IT IS JUST AS DANGEROUS NOT TO GO WHEN CALLED BY THE LORD AS IT IS TO DENY WE KNOW OUR CALLING. JEREMIAH WAS WEARING HIMSELF OUT TRYING TO PURPOSELY AVOID HIS CALLING BY LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DODGE HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AND REMAIN SILENT.
GOD’S ETERNAL MESSAGE DEMANDED FULL EXPRESSION IN SPITE OF PERSECUTION, OPPOSITION AND MOCKERY. SO GREAT WAS THIS COMPELLING FORCE OF THIS REVELATION, THAT JEREMIAH NEVER ONCE DOUBTED ITS REALITY. HE RETURNED TO HIS CALLING.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR US! IT IS SIMPLY A FACT OF BEING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS THAT WE WILL FACE OPPOSITION, HOSTILITY, AND EVEN THREATS OF DEATH FOR OUR SUPPORT OF GOD’S TRUTH.
MATTHEW 5:11-12 “"BLESSED ARE YOU WHEN PEOPLE INSULT YOU, PERSECUTE YOU AND FALSELY SAY ALL KINDS OF EVIL AGAINST YOU BECAUSE OF ME. REJOICE AND BE GLAD, BECAUSE GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN, FOR IN THE SAME WAY THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS WHO WERE BEFORE YOU.”
WHATEVER COMES AGAINST US, WE CAN STAND ASSURED THAT WITH OUR FAITH FIRMLY ROOTED IN GOD, HE WILL PROTECT AND SEE US THROUGH TO VICTORY IN ANY STORM OR ADVERSITY.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:8-10, “WE ARE HARD PRESSED ON EVERY SIDE, BUT NOT CRUSHED; PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED, BUT NOT ABANDONED; STRUCK DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED. WE ALWAYS CARRY AROUND IN OUR BODY THE DEATH OF JESUS, SO THAT THE LIFE OF JESUS MAY ALSO BE REVEALED IN OUR BODY.”
GOD HAS GIVEN US HIS PROMISE THAT IF WE WILL STAND FIRM FOR HIM, NO MATTER WHAT, HE WOULD GIVE US VICTORY THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD. 1 JOHN 5:3-5, “THIS IS LOVE FOR GOD: TO OBEY HIS COMMANDS. AND HIS COMMANDS ARE NOT BURDENSOME, FOR EVERYONE BORN OF GOD OVERCOMES THE WORLD. THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD, EVEN OUR FAITH. WHO IS IT THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD? ONLY HE WHO BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.”
MANY OF GOD’S CALLED SERVANTS IN THE BIBLE BATTLED THE DISCOURAGEMENT OF OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION. ELIJAH FLED FROM JEZEBEL, JONAH ESCAPED TO TARSHISH, MOSES TRYING TO LEAD THE ISRAELITES, AND PAUL AND SILAS FALSELY PUNISHED AND IMPRISONED FOR PREACHING THE GOSPEL.
MANY ACCOUNTS IN SCRIPTURE WE SEE WHERE NOT ONLY A PRICE WAS PAID FOR OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S CALLING, BUT AN ADJUSTMENT IN ATTITUDE WAS GREATLY MADE TO STAND FIRM AND REMAIN STRONG AMONGST THREATS OF ADVERSITY.
LET US ALL LEAVE HERE ENCOURAGED AND RENEWED IN OUR MISSION TO KEEP VIGOROUSLY LIVING OUT AND SPREADING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS NO MATTER WHAT. LET US FIND OUR RELIEF IN THIS FIGHT KNOWING THAT THE BATTLE IS NOT OURS, BUT GOD’S.
2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5, “FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE ARE NOT WAGING WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH. FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT OF THE FLESH BUT HAVE DIVINE POWER TO DESTROY STRONGHOLDS. WE DESTROY ARGUMENTS AND EVERY LOFTY OPINION RAISED AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO OBEY CHRIST.”
THAT IS WHY I LEAVE YOU WITH THE WORDS OF GOD, GIVEN TO US THROUGH JAHAZIEL IN 2 CHRONICLES 20:15-17, “…THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS: ‘DO NOT BE AFRAID! DON’T BE DISCOURAGED…, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT GOD’S. …YOU WILL NOT EVEN NEED TO FIGHT. TAKE YOUR POSITIONS; THEN STAND STILL AND WATCH THE LORD’S VICTORY. HE IS WITH YOU…DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISCOURAGED. GO OUT TOMORROW, FOR THE LORD IS WITH YOU!”
FEAR IS NOTHING MORE THAN FAITH TURNED INSIDE-OUT. WE NEED TO STOP WASTING TIME WITH THE EXCUSES THAT PROMOTES FAILURE AND AVOIDS THE MISSION WE KNOW TO ACCOMPLISH.
LET US FULLY SURRENDER, DAILY, TO GOD BY ALLOWING HIM TO EMPOWER US WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO BE ABLE TO LIVE IN OBEDIENCE AND TO SHARE OUR FAITH, NOT ONLY MORE OFTEN, BUT WITH NEW-FOUND AUTHORITY AND BOLDNESS.
JUST REMEMBER: THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE WITNESSING IS NOT A RESPONSIVE AUDIENCE BUT THE WORD OF GOD, LIKE JEREMIAH, FOUND BURNING WITHIN US. ALLOW GOD TO ENFLAME YOUR HEART ONCE AGAIN WITH THE PASSION TO LIVE-OUT AND SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST!
