"i May Be Persecuted, But I Am Not Forsaken."

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES

(2 Corinthians 4:8-10) ( 8) "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;" (9) " Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;" (10) "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."

(1 Peter 4:12-13) (12) “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; (13) But rejoice, insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."

(Romans 8:35-37) (35) “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (36) "As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." (37) "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

(Romans 8:38-39) (38) "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) "Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

PREFACE SUMMARY

As I contemplate the church's influence in today's world, I'm left with some fundamental questions, the answers to which everyone may not agree. However, there is hope in the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18, which states that the Lord will build His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Christ, the head of the church, will build His church on top of the false, the hurting, the broken dreams, and broken hearts, including divorce and worldly views. The true church of Jesus Christ is not and will not be a weak church.

Saints, we will discover in Jewish history that many times, God would allow things to happen that would make his people look weak. Their enemies look like they were being exalted to their most excellent height, for beloved, God was known to take a small number in their greatest weakness and conquer his enemies in their greatest glory.

Dear friends, there are many people out there who are lost and searching for answers. As people who have gone through difficult times and emerged more robust, we can help them. However, we need to work together to make a real difference. We face challenges, and it's disheartening to see that even our places of worship are not safe from the enemy.

Many people attend church without any respect for God, and some churches are filled with immorality and sin. Despite all this, we must not lose hope. We live in difficult times and face many struggles, but we can hold on to God's promise that he will never abandon us. We must stick together and fight for our beliefs, even when things seem hopeless.

We may make mistakes, but we must remember that God has a plan for us and wants us to have a bright future. The enemy will try to distract us, but we must stay focused and continue to work together. God is always working behind the scenes, and we must trust that his timing is perfect.

Saints, the old shipmen of old amid a terrible storm, would tie themselves to the big mast of the ship to keep from getting washed overboard, and beloved, we have his promise in (Psalms 46:1) that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble.

Church, in these trying times with trouble on every corner, keeps fighting the fight of faith as one unified body working in harmony as we hold on to his everlasting arms because many facing what we are facing today are losing hope and giving up.

Beloved, we may make many mistakes, but that does not define who we are, for what matters most is that we dare to believe (Jeremiah 29:11) ESV "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Dear readers, the enemy has a way of knowing when God is getting ready to move for us. He will send distractions our way to get our eyes off of our assignment; therefore, Saints of the Living God, may we hold on just a little longer and realize we need each other, for we are nearing the end of the day of grace and his coming maybe sooner than we think.

Saints, the bottom line to this entire message is knowing and recognizing that we are in a colossal war between good and evil, and we must realize God's timing in everything we undertake to do.