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On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. I think even the most casual observer realizes that our culture is more hostile toward Christianity than at any other time in our nation's history. And realizing that that negativity and hostility is more likely to increase than it is to subside means we ought to get ready for persecution. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, to many Christians, persecution is something that happens in far off places like Asia or the Middle East.
But in reality, persecution is already taking place in America, and it's going to get worse. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares why our country's hostility towards Christians will only continue to rise. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. In a moment, I'll be addressing an issue that every Christian is going to face in today's culture. I'm talking about persecution for your faith in Christ. The days are gone when Christians were held in high esteem in our country. Today, we're singled out as narrow minded, intolerant bigots. So how can we as Christian patriots respond?
What's our recourse? The answer is clear. In his letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul shared this wise counsel. Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous.
Be strong. And Pathway to Victory is devoted to helping you stand firm on the principles of your Christian faith. Together and through your generous giving, we're connecting listeners and viewers to the firm foundation of God's word, which is the only hope for our nation and the world. Remember right now that we're in the middle of the Beacon of Hope Matching Challenge in the amount of $750,000. There's never been a better time to leverage your generous gift because every dollar you give is automatically doubled in size and impact because of this matching challenge.
So thank you for your gift today. I'm going to send you a tremendous book that tells the stories of God's amazing hand throughout American history. The book is called Miracles in American History, 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer. We'll say more about the book and the matching challenge later in the program. But right now it's time to open our Bibles together. Today we're talking about what to do when persecution comes. Millions of Christians around the world have been blessed by the books of bestselling author Randy Alcorn. You've read his novels perhaps or read his nonfiction books like The Treasure Principle.
However, many people are not familiar with his personal story that redirected his life and ministry. When Randy was 22 he joined another man to form a church in Boring, Oregon. Isn't that a great name for a town?
Boring, Oregon. Needless to say it was a sleepy town. But it wasn't a sleepy church.
It quickly became one of the largest churches in the entire area of Portland. And while he was a pastor Randy Alcorn also frequently spoke out against abortion. He served on the board of a local pregnancy center. He said later in an interview, the issue of life was consuming my mind and heart.
When that light for life is turned on you can't turn it off. In January of 1989 Alcorn asked his elders for permission to participate in local peaceful protest at abortion clinics. The elders acquiesced to their pastor's request. And so Alcorn and his fellow protestors would march in front of these abortion clinics sometimes blocking access with their bodies. The abortion clinics fought back pursuing every legal remedy at their disposal in order to protect the rights of the women who used them. Alcorn was arrested frequently. He recalls hearing one lawyer for an abortion clinic saying in court, my clients have every bit as much right to perform abortions as McDonald's does to serve hamburgers. Although that was true legally Alcorn knew that under God's laws murder was never permissible.
And so he continued his protest. One of the clinics that Randy Alcorn blocked sued him followed by another and eventually they won a judgment against the pastor of 8.2 million dollars. Alcorn told the judge that he would pay any money he legitimately owed but his conscience would not allow him to turn money over to an abortion clinic that would be used to kill babies. When Alcorn discovered that the court was going to garnish one fourth of his wages from the church to help satisfy the judgment he realized he was placing his church in an untenable situation. If the congregation defied the court order they could face possibly years of expensive litigation. So to keep that from happening Randy Alcorn resigned as pastor and lived off of his modest book royalties at the time.
But then he faced another challenge. He was still adamant that no portion of his earnings should be used to kill babies. The only way to prevent the garnishment of even his book royalties was to agree to work for minimum wage. Fortunately frugality had always been a part of his family's way of living and although his book sales have exploded during the last 20 years Randy Alcorn still lives in the same modest three room home and he works for minimum wage plus some speaking honoraria writing his best selling books.
He has not used an ATM or written a check since 1990. Randy and his wife Nancy are quick to point out the many benefits that have accrued to their family because of this experience. He said it would have been very difficult to leave the pastorate to become a writer and speaker and suddenly I had no choice Randy later said in an interview. His wife Nancy also refused to wallow in self pity over their situation however after seeing one of their best friends and fellow abortion protesters spend nine months in jail after losing his job and home because of his abortion protest Nancy Alcorn observed this experience has taught us we will not always receive justice in this world. Any Christian who seriously takes God's command to be light and salt in this dark and decaying world needs to understand you may not and will not always receive justice but you always can be guaranteed to receive persecution. Jesus said in John 16 33 in this world you will have tribulation but be of good courage I have overcome the world. The apostle Paul who before his conversion had been an instrument of persecution against Christians almost overnight became a target of persecution. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 he details some of the suffering that he experienced as a Christian he said in 2 Corinthians 11 24 to 27 five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked a night and a day I've spent in the deep.
I've been on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers dangers from robbers dangers from my countrymen dangers from the Gentiles dangers in the city dangers in the wilderness dangers on the sea dangers among false brethren. I've been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights and hunger and thirst often without food in cold and exposure that was Paul's experience or listen to the experience of the first century Christians that followed Paul as the writer of Hebrews notes believers were tortured. Not accepting their release in order that they might obtain a better resurrection and others experience scourging yes chains and imprisonment they were stoned they were sawn into they were tempted they were put to death with the sword they went about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted ill treated men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
Now when we read passages like that let's be honest we try to assure ourselves that we won't have to go through that kind of suffering because after all we live in a different time in history. And yet it's pointed out that more Christians died as martyrs in the 20th century than all the other centuries combined the reason we in the West in America specifically feel immune from this kind of suffering is we're not aware of what is happening to Christians around the world today. For example since 2003 Iraqi Christians have been frequent targets by Islamic extremist in Iran authorities arrested 70 Christians over a six week period of time in an effort to target grassroots Christian groups.
In January of 2011 a judge in Afghanistan told Shaib Azadullah that if he did not renounce Christ within one week he would face up to 20 years in prison or even be sentenced to death. Today more Christians are imprisoned in China than in any other country in the world. Hundreds of thousands of believers are detained in work camps each year without even a court order so that they can participate in a re-education through labor program as the Chinese like to call it. The only legal churches allowed by the Chinese government are those controlled by the government. Those who meet in house churches not sanctioned by the government risk torture, imprisonment and death. Philip Yancey describes a visit with Pastor Alan Wan who helped to found the house church movement in China during the Japanese occupation.
Pastor Wan was 90 years old at the time of his interview. He had spent 22 years in prison. He had been tortured and spent months in solitary confinement in a windowless cell.
Listen to what he said to Philip Yancey. He said, I pulled blankets over my head and prayed. For 10 years no letters from my family got through. I had no Bible but a few passages and psalms stayed with me.
Wan spent 13 years of his sentence in China's most northern province. He said it was a miracle. I had only a light jacket and in the freezing winter weather I never caught a cold or the flu.
Not sick a single day. Pastor Wan is convinced that persecution for Christians is not only inevitable but profitable for believers. Listen to what this pastor said. He said, We live in a time like the apostles. Christians are persecuted, yes, but look at the Hong Kong and Taiwan church. They have prosperity but they don't seek God. I tell you I came out of that prison with faith stronger than I went in. Like Joseph, we don't know why we go through hard times until later looking back.
Think of it. We in China may soon have the largest Christian community in the world and in an atheistic state that tried to stamp us out. Christians experienced intense sufferings in the first century.
They are now experiencing suffering around the world. The Bible also predicts that in the final years before Christ's return, Christians will also experience unprecedented hardship. The apostle John describes a large group of believers who will be slain during the tribulation.
In Revelation 6-9 he says, And when he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony that they had maintained. Of course the instigator of this persecution will be the antichrist. In Revelation 13-7 John says, And it was given to him, the antichrist, to make war with the saints and to overcome them.
And authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. The special target of antichrist persecution will be Christians. What way will antichrist make war with God's people? One way he will do so is by restricting the purchase of necessary goods and services for survival to those who agree to worship him. You know from our study in the Revelation that antichrist will have a lieutenant, a right hand man known as the false prophet, who will enforce this global mandate to worship the antichrist. This false prophet will mandate that everyone has to receive a mark of some kind that will demonstrate his allegiance to antichrist if he wants to purchase any good or any service. Think of commodities like food.
Think of services like health care. In Revelation 14 verses 16-18 John says, And he causes all the small and the great and the rich and the poor and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. And he provides that no one should be able to buy or sell except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for that number is that of a man and his number is 666. Author Grant Jeffrey claims that the technology to essentially barcode human beings like you do a bottle of toothpaste or a book is already available through radio frequency identification chips. Grant Jeffrey writes, Using existing technology, the mark or number 666 can be implanted under the skin of every person using an RFID microchip. A powerful electronic scanner could detect the chip from a distance and reveal all of your personal information far more than your name, address, age and marital status.
While the implanted microchip and its information would be readable by a radio frequency scanner, a person would not know when or where his private information was being accessed or who was accessing the information. Now such a thought is not just fanciful imagination. It is guaranteed reality if you take seriously the revelation from John. There is coming time, a time of great intense persecution. If we know that Christians in past ages have suffered persecution, if we know that Christians around the world are now suffering persecution, if we know there is a time coming in the future when every believer will suffer persecution, doesn't it make sense that we who live in America are also going to face a time of persecution as well? We know that the last seven years of earth's history will be intense persecution for every believer in the world.
Listen to Jesus' words in Matthew 24 verse 36. Jesus said, talking about His return, But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Nobody knows.
Nobody knows. But I want you to notice something what this text says. No one knows the day or the hour, but God knows the day and the hour, which means there is a day and an hour fixed on God's calendar when the Lord is going to return. And that means that every second that passes means we are moving toward that great climactic event. And that means every second that passes we are moving toward this time of great tribulation and persecution against believers on the earth.
Now, I think it's important to define terms here. What do we mean by persecution? By persecution I'm talking about any negative consequences you experience for being salt, that is restraining evil, or by being light and trying to share the gospel with other people. Now obviously there is a spectrum of persecution that people experience.
That spectrum can range from not being invited to a dinner party because you're too opinionated, all the way to being tortured and even executed because you don't recant your faith. There is a spectrum of persecution and I want to suggest to you that the degree to which you as a Christian will experience persecution is dependent upon two factors. First of all, the intensity of your conviction will determine the intensity of the persecution you face. The pastor who never preaches against homosexuality or abortion or talks about the exclusivity of the gospel will never face ridicule from the media.
The Christian student who refuses to challenge his non-Christian professor's erroneous teaching will never have to worry about a lowered grade. A believer who decides not to offend his non-Christian parents by sharing the gospel with them will never risk experiencing their disapproval. The intensity of your conviction will determine the intensity of the persecution you experience. Secondly, the extent of the persecution you face is determined by the spiritual climate of the culture in which you live.
The extent of the persecution you face is also determined by the spiritual climate of the culture in which you live. Thursday night we had another one of our dinners with the pastor. Had 200 folks there, half of them were prospects.
It was a great evening. But during the question and answer time, somebody asked me the question. He said, pastor, do you think this world is getting worse? I said, well, worse than what? I mean, is our culture more decadent, more ungodly than that of the first century during the Roman Empire? Well, no. But is our culture, especially in America, more ungodly than it was 40 or 50 or 100 years ago?
The answer would be yes. In fact, if you don't believe that the culture in which we are living right now in America is more ungodly than it has been in the past, I want you to ask yourself how the American people, especially the media, would respond if the President of the United States made these remarks during a televised speech from the Oval Office. Quote, the general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God, and that those principles of liberty are unalterable as human nature. Can you imagine how people would respond if the President said this country was founded on Christian principles?
Why, there would be hows and cries and calls of impeachment all around the country. And yet, those are the words that were spoken by the second President of the United States, John Adams. We have become increasingly hostile toward Christianity in our country. Now secularists would attribute that change to our nation's collective open-mindedness and tolerance.
They would say we now are much more sophisticated than earlier generations. We recognize that there are multiple paths to God and no one religion can claim exclusivity. Biblicalists would say no, it is Romans chapter 1 in action because our nation has rejected the truth of God. We have fallen into a time of darkening in our understanding. But regardless of the reason, I think even the most casual observer realizes that our culture is more hostile toward Christianity than at any other time in our nation's history. And realizing that that negativity and hostility is more likely to increase than it is to subside means we ought to get ready for persecution. How should we respond to the escalating attacks against Christians? How do we get ready for persecution? In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25, the writer says, We ought to encourage one another and all the more as we see the day drawing near. Now one way we can encourage one another as Christians is to help prepare one another for this inevitable time of persecution. I want to share with you three words that I believe are essential in strengthening yourself and preparing for the coming persecution that every genuine follower of Christ will experience.
The first word, and write it down, is the word certain. Suffering is certain. The first recorded case of persecution against Christians as a whole occurred under Emperor Nero in 64 A.D. However, as in our culture, this awful persecution against Christians didn't happen suddenly. Instead it happened progressively. Nero was allowed by the population to commit these atrocities against Christians because as the historian Tacitus notes, Christians were already a class hated for the abominations by the populace.
There was a growing hatred toward Christians that finally allowed Nero to commit these heinous crimes against believers. I've only had time to share the first of three key words today. So please join us again tomorrow when we'll continue this important study on what to do when persecution comes. Well, I know that our Pathway to Victory listeners care deeply about the future of our great nation. And so as you feel stirred in your heart to take action, let me urge you to join Pathway to Victory in shining the beacon of God's hope into the dark corners of our country. By giving to the $750,000 Beacon of Hope Matching Challenge, you'll empower us to share these daily messages on television, radio, the internet, and beyond. To be absolutely clear, Pathway to Victory is committed to be a light in the darkness of a nation in desperate need.
But we can't do so without friends like you. Your generosity today, doubled in ministry impact, will help us reach communities like yours across America with the bold, biblical, and practical Word of God. Let's show our courage and faith in Jesus Christ and become a beacon of hope in America. And when you give to the Matching Challenge today, I'm going to send you a fabulous book that reinforces the truth about God's hand upon the country we love. It's called Miracles in American History, 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer.
This book shows the factual events that tragically are not taught in most American classrooms and campuses anymore. As a bonus, I'll also include a DVD of one of my most popular messages, America is a Christian Nation. Now, here's David to explain how you can get in touch right away.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of the book Miracles in American History. In addition to the book, you'll receive America is a Christian Nation.
That's a popular message on DVD preached by Dr. Jeffress. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. Now, when you give $100 or more, we'll also send you the complete collection of audio and video discs for the America and the Bible teaching series, along with an encouraging book by Dr. Jeffress called Praying for America, 40 Inspiring Stories and Prayers for Our Nation.
And don't forget, because of our Beacon of Hope Matching Challenge, your gift to Pathway to Victory will be matched and therefore double in impact. So be sure to get in touch right away. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could also send your donation by mail right to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. Every day our government is growing more and more hostile towards believers. Learn more about what to do when persecution comes. That's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway Partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
