Things believers need in times of anti-Christian hostility

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From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio. And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. If you look online at books, there are many books nowadays by atheists, and those that critique Christianity, if not scoff at Christianity. A lot of the objection books try to play gotcha with the Bible. And they point out alleged errors in the Bible, and they ask questions like, where did Cain get his wife, and is it possible that Noah could have put all those animals on the ark? And so one thing that I want to point out about that is that we live in a time of great anti-Christian hostility. There is so much sentiment out there in the media, in the classroom, and just in the culture at large, rising sentiment against Christianity.

And we're going to talk about that. The other thing I would say regarding all of the books that want to critique and refute Christianity is that the questions have been answered for centuries. There really are no new questions. Now there are new assertions. Christianity is alleged to be a religion of phobia and hate. Christians are against Islam because they're phobic.

Christians are said to be against homosexuality and transgenderism because they don't understand it. And therefore they fear it. Christianity is not phobic. True Christianity fears nothing but a holy God.

And we're not haters. In fact, if we follow Jesus Christ, we're to love our neighbor. And sometimes love means telling people the truth and telling people things they don't necessarily want to hear, but they need to hear. So Christianity is not based on hate or fear, but another thing that I want to point out, and we're going to look at Psalm 25 in just a moment, but we live in a time of rising anti-Christian hostility.

And I'm going to point out a couple of news items from this past week that I think illustrate that. But if you're at a position where you can read the Bible, we're going to be in Psalm 25 today for a few moments. And we're going to talk about things every believer needs from God in a time of anti-Christian hostility.

Things every believer needs from God in a time of anti-Christian hostility. Alex McFarland here, so glad that you're with us on Truth for a New Generation Radio. And as I record this radio program, we're getting ready for Cincinnati. We've got a TNG event in Cincinnati in November of 2019. Josh McDowell will be there and Erwin Lutzer.

It's going to be phenomenal. I hope you're praying for that. Please do pray for that. But in Psalm 25, it talks about the care and the comfort that we have from the Lord.

And we're going to refer back to this as we talk about our culture, the West and much of the world, certainly intensely in the United States of America right now, anti-Christian hostility. But look at Psalm 25, if you could, or listen along at least. It says, To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in you. Let me not be ashamed. Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on you be ashamed.

Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me for you are the God of my salvation.

On you I wait all day. Remember, O Lord. This is verse six of Psalm 25. Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindness, for they are from old. Do not remember the sins of my youth nor my transgressions. According to your mercy, remember me for your goodness sake, O Lord. Now, in Psalm 25, there's a lot about encouragement.

There's a lot about not being ashamed. And we follow Christ and we trust in the Lord and the fact is that we're not ever going to regret that. No Christian on their deathbed ever says, you know, I followed Christ for my life and worst decision I ever made.

No, never. In fact, Christians, the longer we walk with him, the more we realize it was the greatest decision we ever made. And if you don't know the Lord right now, let me encourage you to do that thing you'll be glad you did when you stand before God one day.

To take Christ as your Savior and to know the Lord as your Savior. And Psalm 25 talks about not being ashamed, not letting troubles and enemies have victory over you. And it talks about the comfort that we have in the person of Christ, that God is good and is upright. And God draws sinners into the way of life, verses 8 and 9. If we humble ourselves, God will guide us. And it says the paths of the Lord, verse 10, are mercy and truth. Praise God, he shows mercy to us. Praise God, we know truth.

We know what is real because of our relationship with God. And verse 10 says God keeps his promises. Do you know, we live in a world where so many lawsuits are filed because of people who don't keep their word.

So much litigation takes place and broken lives and broken relationships, even broken families, because of people who don't keep their promises and don't do what's right. But God, according to Psalm 25, 10, is the God who keeps his covenant and he keeps his word or his testimonies. Now, his covenant, what is that? Well, that he would send the Messiah, which he did. That all who turn to him will be forgiven and will be in a position of righteousness. God has made a covenant with you, the believer. And you may be utterly assured, absolutely confident, that God will keep his covenant. But it goes on in Psalm 25 and it says, you know, God take note of my enemies and take notice of me. Be encouraged because, as Psalm 25, 22 says, God redeems his people from out of their troubles. Now we're going to come back and we're going to talk about the things that every believer needs from God in a time of anti-Christian hostility. And the good news is those needs will be met. And in Christ, we will have the things we need from our God at this time and always. Stay tuned.

We're back after a brief break. From I am a Watchman Ministries. Here's today's I am a Watchman Minute. Throughout the Bible, Israel is symbolized by a fig tree. So Jesus is saying, when Israel becomes a nation, when the Jews return to the land, when the Hebrew language is spoken again, when enemies speak of coalitions and conspire to attack, then the return of the Lord is near. Friend, the return of the Lord is near.

Are you ready? Visit I am a Watchman dot com to learn more about what the Bible says is going to happen soon. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide, and video series, you'll find it at afastore.net.

That's afastore.net. When we're told to do something, we like to ask why we don't follow traditions merely for the sake of tradition. We seek a biblical worldview and search for reasons behind answers for the Christian who wants to dig deeper. To dig deeper, there's engagemagazine.net, packed with relevant articles from movie reviews and life tips to culture and the believer's spiritual life. Share truth, apply scripture, engagemagazine.net. At Liberty University, you'll earn more than a degree. You'll earn the satisfaction of seeing what you can accomplish and what God can accomplish through you. Choose from more than 600 degree options from an associate to a PhD and study 100% online more affordably than you think. Discover God's truth through every degree at Liberty University, where we train champions for Christ. Go to liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more.

That's liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. Timeless Truths in a Soundbite Culture. Truth for a New Generation Radio. Welcome back to Truth for a New Generation Radio.

Alex McFarland here. We're talking about things that every believer needs from God at a time of anti-Christian hostility. And we're really going to hone in on several verses, but one of which is verse 14, which is translated in a number of different ways in different versions of the Bible. And I'm going to talk about that in a moment. But let me underscore the anti-Christian hostility that we find in our culture. There was an article this week about a Christian doctor in England who lost his job of nearly 30 years. A decorated, highly respected physician, but he was fired because he refused to use a transgender patient's preferred pronoun.

Now listen to this. A seasoned British doctor lost his government job as a medical assessor after more than three decades because he refused to renounce his Christian belief that gender is determined at birth. The best way to argue this is not that it's a Christian belief, although it is, but that it's a natural law belief. The fact that men have XY chromosomes and females have XX, that's not a Christian belief necessarily. That's just common sense and natural law.

But listen to this, and we're talking about the fact that we are living in a time of anti-Christian hostility. Dr. David Makareth, 56, a National Health Service employee, was fired from his post at the Department for Work and Pensions in July because he would not use a transgender pronoun saying he believes, quote, gender is defined by biology and genetics, which is true, and quote, the Bible teaches us that God made humans male and female, end of quote, and that's also true. This week he lost his job before an employment tribunal in England and the judge, now listen to this, here's a highly respected medical doctor of three decades, Dr. David Makareth. The judge said the doctor's beliefs were, quote, incompatible with human dignity, end of quote. Now listen, Makareth, who said his supervisor pressured him to refer, quote, to a six foot tall man with a beard as she and Mrs., but the doctor refused. Patient is a six foot tall male with a beard, and the doctor says, I'm not going to call this man she or Mrs., and he goes on, and this is brilliant. Dr. Makareth, fired from his job, says, quote, no doctor or researcher or philosopher can demonstrate or prove that a person can change sex.

Without intellectual and moral integrity, medicine cannot function, and my 30 years as a doctor are now considered irrelevant compared to the risk that someone else might be offended. And his attorney says this, it is deeply disturbing that this is the first time in the history of English law, which by the way goes back to about 1060. The first time in the history of English law that a judge has ruled that free citizens must engage in compelled speech, end of quote. Adding that, quote, now listen, folks, and this is England, but America is right there, quote, Christianity is not protected by the Equality Act or the ECHR unless it is a version of Christianity which recognizes transgenderism and rejects a belief in Genesis 127, being that in the beginning God made man male and female, created he them. Now, do you understand, folks? You know, what's amazing to me is that Satan has successfully pulled off what alcohol, drugs, immoral entertainment, pornography couldn't do. Even liberal clergy, really in the 60s through the 90s, liberalism, clergy that denied the virgin birth and denied Noah and the ark, and clergy that were liberal and they didn't believe the Bible was the infallible word of God, all of those are problematic. But really what James Dobson said to me nearly 20 years ago, Dr. Dobson said that the gay movement is not so much about people's feelings or people's freedom, the gay movement is about silencing the gospel.

And I thought, how could that work? But we're seeing it. Do you understand that the Word of God, which says people are genetically male or female and go to heaven, you must repent of sin, turn to Christ from sin, and among those sins is all homosexual activity and abusers of themselves with mankind, the effeminate. And the Greek word is arsenakoyte, in homosexuality. And in Old and New Testaments, homosexuality, transgenderism, these types of aberrant sexuality are condemned. In fact, the only appropriate expression of human sexuality is what researchers have documented gives the greatest amount of sexual activity and the greatest amount of satisfaction is intimacy between a husband and wife, heterosexual monogamy, we call this marriage.

In fact, what so many people are after, which is sexual fulfillment, the greatest likelihood that you will ever find sexual fulfillment in terms of quantity and quality, it's in marriage. And that's secular research that documents that. But the Word of God says that all sex outside of heterosexual monogamy, a man and a woman married for a lifetime, all sexual activity outside of marriage is sin. And yet, the homosexual movement, the transgender movement, really has so aligned itself that it is effectively silencing the gospel to the point that now, if you say that a man is a man and a woman is a woman, you stand a chance of being sued or dismissed from your job, as this man in England has experienced. So we're living in a time of anti-Christian hostility that has grown more than any other thing in the last thousand years, literally in a thousand years, in a millennia.

Satan's greatest offensive against the church, against the gospel, and against Christianity has been not discussion over the manuscripts, not archaeology, not even Darwinian evolution. The gay movement has succeeded in doing what all of these other offenses were not able to fully do, and that is basically to make the church illegal. Friends, do you understand, and I've got good news here in a moment, but at this point let's accurately and honestly assess the situation.

Do you understand that in the West, in the Christian West, we are watching the incremental criminalization of Christianity? Are you up for the fight? Are you brave enough, courageous enough? Are you trusting in Christ enough to valiantly stand for what is true? Now when we come back, we're going to talk about nine things every believer needs from God in this time of anti-Christian hostility.

Don't go away. And with the help of notable names like apologist and author Josh McDowell, and award-winning author and pastor emeritus of Moody Church, Erwin Lutzer, Alex and the Truth for a New Generation Conference is committed to impacting our nation for Christ and the future, and to equipping you to be a difference maker. Don't miss the final TNG Unashamed Conference for 2019, November 15th and 16th at Landmark Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Romans 1-16 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. Register now by calling 877-YES-GOD-1. That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1, or visit truthforanewgeneration.com. 1 Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have.

We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers Teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like, is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers Team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

Call me at 864-977-2008 and always be ready. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation Radio. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.

That's Psalm 25, 14. And we're going to unpack that in a moment, but I welcome you back to Truth for a New Generation Radio. Alex McFarland here. I do want to remind you that at AlexMcFarland.com you can follow my speaking schedule. Hey, we've got Truth for a New Generation coming up. We're helping people stand for truth. We need your prayers and support, friends. My website is AlexMcFarland.com if you want to come to the big event in Cincinnati in November. Josh McDowell, Erwin Lutzer, much, much more.

Go to my website, AlexMcFarland.com. Please pray, promote, and plan to attend the things that the Lord has us doing. We care about the Gospel in America, and as I've said, we are living in a time of anti-Christian hostility. And, you know, really throughout Psalm 25, it talks about the things that we get from God or we have available to us.

Here's this list. Now follow this. From all of these verses where it says, Lord, let me not be ashamed. Let my enemies not triumph over me. No one who waits on you, Lord, will be ashamed. God shows us his ways, his paths, truth, mercy. He's the God of our salvation.

He doesn't remember our transgressions. Verse seven, he shows us his goodness. He guides us.

He deals justly with us. And not only that, mercifully, he keeps his covenant. And the man who fears the Lord will dwell in prosperity, says verse 13.

His descendants will inherit the earth. On and on it goes, and it says, My eyes are ever to the Lord, for he will pick my feet up out of the net. You get tangled up in troubles, turn your eyes to the Lord.

He'll get you back on solid ground. He shows mercy to those who are desolate and afflicted. Maybe you feel desolate.

Maybe you feel lonely, and you feel afflicted and in trouble. But God brings us out of our distress. Verse 17. And God sees our affliction. He sees our pain. He forgives our sins. He understands what we're up against.

Verse 19 says, Consider my enemies, for there are many, and they hate me with a cruel hatred. Keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in you.

If you put your trust in God, think about it. He sees your afflictions, and he redeems his people. Now here are the things that every Christian needs from God in this season of anti-Christian hostility. Confidence, protection, instruction, guidance, comfort, forgiveness, blessing, counsel, and I'll explain that in a moment, and redemption.

And just think about it. They are as close by as a prayer. I read Psalm 25, and I would encourage you to read through that. You can have confidence or encouragement, knowing that God is for you, and God is with you. You can have his protection, and he will encamp his angels around you. Instruction and wisdom and guidance. Not just the white noise of internet static, but true wisdom from God.

Comfort, knowing that he will never leave you, and he will never forsake you. Verse 10, he will keep his covenant, his promises to you, that he has made. And you get those from his word. If you want to be close to God, you must be familiar with God's word. And you will be comforted.

Don't just walk around waiting for some nebulous feeling. Read about God through his word, and you'll get that comfort. Forgiveness of sin, pardon of your transgression, blessing and the provisions you need. But then verse 14, fascinating verse. Many translations render verse 14, and they'll say, The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him.

But Psalm 25, 14, many read this way. Listen, the Lord confides in those who fear him. Can you imagine the Almighty God confiding in you? So to share a confidence is some deep truth or deep secret.

And the word there really means counsel. And what it means when it says the Lord confides in those who fear him, really in the Hebrew it means that God will make you to know counsel. This might be the greatest promise of all in a time of anti-Christian hostility, that the secret of the Lord, the counsel, the wisdom of eternity, and the mind of Almighty God, Jesus Christ our Savior, is with those who fear him.

Imagine God confiding in you. And then finally redemption. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles. You know, it's been said our salvation is past, present and future. We are saved. We are being saved. And we will be saved. Right now, if you're a believer, you are in Christ. And you are being sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ. And one day we'll be glorified and we'll ever be with Jesus Christ.

And so in this time of anti-Christian hostility, we definitely need to live and move and rejoice in who we are as his children. Now let me close. We're almost out of time. I want to read a portion of a book, How Churchill Saved Civilization by John Hart, the epic story of 13 years that almost destroyed the world, who basically, as this author, this historian says, saved the world. He writes, most historians candidly admit that they do not know still what caused the First World War. Complacency, ignorance, weakness, paranoia. But he concludes and he says this, and this book was published in 2016, three years ago. This particular author seems gravely afraid that we are on the precipice of another world war. That political instability, economic instabilities, the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. And then, think about this, and this is not a Christian book per se, but the loss of morality.

Because of the gay agenda, there's been the abolition of belief in moral truth. And the world right now teeters on the brink of anarchy. And whenever there's a vacuum, something rushes in to fill it. Where there's a vacuum of truth, a vacuum of moral boundaries, a vacuum of decisive, principle leadership. What will rush in to fill it?

Anarchy, socialism, terrorism, Sharia. Let me say this. If ever there were a time for you to stand strong, rejoicing in everything you have in God, and exemplifying everything that we are called to be for God, this is the time. Stand strong in truth. Stand confidently. But stand strong knowing that, among everything else, the Lord confides in those who fear Him. Let's know His counsel and live that others may know Him as well.

That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. Or give online at AlexMcFarland.com. While you're there, listen to program archives, read Alex's blog, invite Alex to speak at your event, or contact Alex with a question or comment. AlexMcFarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG Radio.