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Call 866-WINASIA or to see chickens and other animals to donate, go to CritterCampaign.org. Nikita Kolov here, the devil's worst nightmare, with the It's Time to Man Up podcast, where we talk to real men who have real stories who realize it is time to man up. Your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. So James, the other day you met someone who has been in the news a lot recently.
That's right. Andrew Brunson, the missionary who was imprisoned in Turkey for two years, came to speak at a prayer meeting at peace with his wife, Noreen, and theirs is an incredible story, Robbie. Wow, it sure is. I mean, they're falsely accused of participating in an attempted coup against the Turkish government and charged with cultural subversion for preaching the Christian faith, and they both really suffered deeply for it. It's a brilliant reminder to pray for our missionaries and for the persecuted church all over the world. A big part of Andrew's message is that any of us can be persecuted for our faith, and we need to be prepared for that. So today I want to talk about staying faithful in prayer when you're in the crucible.
That may be when you're persecuted for your faith, or it may be through other circumstances of life, but our Christian faith was meant for tough times, and our God is faithful even when we have to go through them. Yeah, that makes me think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, right? The guys who were thrown in the fire for not bowing down to worship, you know, that huge gold in the idol. Remember what they told the king right before they went in?
Yeah, I do. They told Nebuchadnezzar that God is able to deliver them, but even if he does not, they will not bow down to anyone else. They'll worship only him. And that is so important. Let's talk about that moment in our faith, that even if he does not moment, where you're in the middle of a crisis and you don't know how it's going to work out, what God's going to allow. You know, when I was talking to Andrew before the prayer meeting about these things, he asked me if there was anything I wanted him to address, and I said, yeah, how about the faithfulness of God? And he said, that's a good topic, but what about our faithfulness to him?
And as soon as he said it, I knew he was right. Scripture talks a lot about that. In 2 Thessalonians 1-11, that I'm preaching on this Sunday, for example, Paul tells the church, we constantly pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling. And that's an interesting thing, because that whole concept of worthiness, we know we could never earn God's forgiveness.
It's not about that. It's about responding to the gift of his love and mercy in such a way that we live full and faithful or worthy lives, living for him more and more. Yeah, that makes me think of the parable Jesus told where God says, you know, well done, good and faithful servant. Yeah, that's what we're talking about, especially when you're in the crucible, and it would be easier to just deny him. One of the things I loved about Andrew was that he was so honest about his questions and so humble about that. He didn't feel God's presence with him often when he was in prison. All he could feel was darkness. And that surprised him because he had read all of these biographies of others who had been in prison for their faith, and you don't see so much of an interior struggle in those books, usually.
He told me he didn't know if they just didn't write about it or if they didn't have it, but he certainly did. And keep in mind that this is a guy who loves Jesus very much. But again, he just went through a season where he didn't feel God's presence.
Wow. I mean, sometimes he can feel as if God takes a step back so that we will take a step forward. I mean, isn't that kind of? Yeah, I mean, I think God allows that sometimes. And some in history have called that basically the dark night of the soul.
But the question is, what are we going to do when we're in it? What did Andrew do? Well, he just kept going. He couldn't feel God, but he took all of his doubts and questions and locked them up in a box in the back of his mind. He'd heard about someone else who had done that. So he did that so they could just deal with them later. And he just gave himself to God and kept trusting him no matter what. And I thought that was really sound advice. He told God, you can open this box if you want to, but I'm leaving it sealed.
I don't need to know the answers in order to continue my relationship with you. That's amazing. I mean, really powerful. And that's the right response, right? Because otherwise, it's like we're giving God an ultimatum.
I'll only love you and worship you if I can understand what you're doing or that I can sense you here with me right now. Exactly. So this is the even if he doesn't part, you know, that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego went through. And still, it was so hard. You know, here he was falsely imprisoned, falsely accused in an overcrowded cell where he was the only Christian and the rest were all Muslims. And at one point he wrote, I was the only man in the cell wrestling with my God. The others could not understand my anguish, my doubts, my cries to God. But I looked to him as a father and the silence and distance I was experiencing from him were deeply confusing. I can see how he would feel like that.
I mean, any of us could. Exactly. But again, he persevered, not because he was so strong. He will tell you that he considers himself a weak vessel and aren't we all? But he just kept doing what he could do to worship God and to believe. And that was hard because there were so many times where it seemed like he was getting out and then he didn't. And even the Lord seemed to be telling him he'd be getting out and then it didn't happen.
So where did it come out with him? Well, of course, God eventually intervened through the President, the Secretary of State and others in a powerful way, but all of that was an answer to prayer. I mean, there was a worldwide movement of prayer for Andrew and knowing that was huge for him.
It helps so much when others are praying for us and we know it, doesn't it? But he tells about one day, this is the day he got shipped back to a prison where he had really suffered and he really didn't want to go back there. And he said, the thoughts kept going through my mind. Where are you, God? Why have you let me return to this awful place? Why do you not intervene for me?
Why are you so far away, so silent? And then he said, I opened my mouth weeping aloud and the words I heard murmured stunned me. I love you, Jesus. And again, I love you, Jesus.
I love you, Jesus. That's what he heard coming out of his mouth. And then he said, immediately I realized here's my victory in my lowest point. The cry of my heart was one of love to Jesus. And he realized that he had been tested and he had grown through it. And that makes me think about the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 2, 13, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. So even in all of his struggles, you know, when he couldn't feel God, in the end, God was still at work at all of that. And his part was to keep putting one foot in front of the other, doing his best to walk with him. And then it became clear, you know, the Lord was with him and he had enabled him to remain faithful.
Yeah, we could obviously talk about this for a long time, but I'm out of time today, James. Let me close us with a prayer that will do this very thing to go the distance to remain faithful. Jesus, thank you for this amazing, powerful testimony that we too would grow in our faith to our lowest moment.
We would be able to cry out and know that you're there and with us. Help us to be faithful in the good times as well. And even as these coming weeks we know are going to be difficult in our country, Lord, help us to remain faithful close to you. Eyes on Jesus, hearts on Jesus. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.
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