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RADICAL FAITH
I want to read to you the opening story from David Platt's book "The Radical Question" (Multnomah Press).
Imagine a scene that took place in Asia not so long ago:
A room in an ordinary house, dimly lit, all the blinds on the windows closed. Twenty leaders from churches in the region sit quietly in a circle on the floor, their Bibles open. They speak in hushed tones or not at all. Some still glisten with sweat; others' clothes and shoes are noticeably dusty. They have been walking or riding bicycles since early morning when they left distant villages to get here.
Whenever a knock is heard or a suspicious sound drifts in, everyone freezes while a burly tough-looking man gets up to check things out.
These men and woman have gathered in secret, arriving intentionally at different times throughout the day so as not to draw attention. In this country it is illegal for Christians to come together like this. If caught, the people here could lose their land, their jobs, their families, even their lives.
I was in that dimly light room that day, a visitor from America. I huddled next to an interpreter, who helped me understand their stories as they began to share.
The tough-looking man--our "head of security"--was first to speak up. But as he spoke, his intimidating appearance quickly gave way to reveal a tender heart.
"Some of the people in my church have been pulled away by a cult," he said. Tears welled up in his eyes. "We are hurting. I need God's grace to lead my church through these attacks."
The cult that had been preying on his church is known for kidnapping Christians, taking them to isolated locations, and torturing them, my interpreter explained. Many brothers and sisters in the area would never tell the good news again. At least not with words. Their tongues had been cut out.
"MY SUPREME WEAPON IS DYING."
Joseph Ton was pastor of Second Baptist Church, Oradea, Romania, until he was exiled by the Romanian government in 1981. In Pastoral Renewal, he writes of his experience:
"Years ago I ran away from my country to study theology at Oxford. In 1972, when I was ready to go back to Romania, I discussed my plans with some fellow students. They pointed out that I might be arrested at the border. One student asked, 'Joseph, what chances do you have of successfully implementing your plans?'"
He asked God about it, and God brought to mind Matthew 10:16 -- "I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves" -- and seemed to say, "Tell me, what chance does a sheep surrounded by wolves have of surviving five minutes, let alone of converting the wolves? Joseph, that’s how I send you: totally defenseless and without a reasonable hope of success. If you are willing to go like that, go. If you are not willing to be in that position, don’t go."
Ton writes: "After our return, as I preached uninhibitedly, harassment and arrests came. One day during interrogation an officer threatened to kill me. Then I said, 'Sir, your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying. Sir, you know my sermons are all over the country on tapes now. If you kill me, I will be sprinkling them with my blood. Whoever listens to them after that will say, "I’d better listen. This man sealed it with his blood." They will speak ten times louder than before. So, go on and kill me. I win the supreme victory then.'"
The officer sent him home. "That gave me pause. For years I was a Christian who was cautious because I wanted to survive. I had accepted all the restrictions the authorities put on me because I wanted to live. Now I wanted to die, and they wouldn’t oblige. Now I could do whatever I wanted in Romania. For years I wanted to save my life, and I was losing it. Now that I wanted to lose it, I was winning it."
Blessed Are The Persecuted
Matthew 5:10-12 says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 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."
We are not to be surprised if people in the world hate Christians. (1 John 3: 13) Matthew Henry wrote, "Whom Christ blesses the world curses. The heirs of heaven have never been the darlings of this world, since the old enmity was put between the seed of woman (Eve) and of the serpent (Devil). Why did Cain hate Abel? Because Abel's works were righteous."
Persecution is a great paradox and a part of Christianity. Therefore it is put last of the eight Beatitudes. Jesus gives mention of it twice in His opening statements in the Sermon on the Mount because persecution is certain. In fact, "...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..." (2 Timothy 3: 12)
Righteousness, proper living before God, is an offense to people who live for the flesh, the world and the Devil. True holy living by the children of God convicts those who live for themselves.
Persecution, which is seen by an all-knowing God, comes in many forms and is found in every nation. Christians have been fined, imprisoned, banished, stripped of their estates, scourged, tortured, falsely accused and killed. There is no evil so black and horrid as false accusations and the persecution of Christians who truly walk uprightly before God.
Today's text does not encourage Christians to seek persecution. But, neither does it permit retreating from it, sulking or retaliation.
Christians who are persecuted because of righteousness will have a great reward in heaven. They may not understand the purposes nor see the benefits of it down here on earth, but there will be a great reward in the future life. Persecuted Christians who are fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit, can be like Peter and the other apostles when they left the Sanhedrin "...rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name [of Christ]." (Acts 5: 14)
Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer were the two American Christian aide workers being held by the Taliban under threat of death during the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on America and the resulting U.S. attack on Afghanistan. They open their book, "Prisoners of Hope" with these words, "To the Afghan people whom we so dearly love." These words reflect the heart of Christians who are willing to risk persecution and perhaps death for the sake of taking the gospel to the lost, those who are without Christ as personal Savior and Lord. They also wrote; "To our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Your everlasting love healed our hearts and set us free. May we honor and love you with all that we are for all of our days."
Having the "Righteousness" of God is to have a surrendered heart to His will, regardless of the cost. Blessed are those who will undergo persecution for the sake of the righteousness of Christ.
Matt 5.10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
On June 17, 2004, when Sister Jiang Zongxiu went to the market in Guizhou Province, China, she thought it would be just another day. Along with her mother-in-law, Jiang went through the marketplace, handing out Christian literature and telling people about Jesus. Their actions were soon noticed, and they were arrested. Even when the police took the two women into custody, Jiang did not become discouraged: Arrest and suffering are a regular part of the Christian walk in China. Little did the 34-year-old wife and mother know that the next day she would enter eternity, beaten to death while in the custody of Chinese police.
While we may not suffer the same kind of persecution as our brothers and sisters in Asia and the Muslim world and many other places, Jesus promised...
Suffer for Doing Good
In January 1956, five young missionaries dared to make contact with a savage South American tribe, and their story changed lives around the world. Fifty years later, the account-told from the tribe’s view point-will reach another generation.
The missionaries goal was to reach the legendary Waodani Indians and to share the gospel with them. But the five were betrayed by one of the first Indians they met. He lied to his fellow tribesmen to convice them the young men were a threat. Instead of welcoming the missioinaries, the Indians’ greeting came at the end of a spear, when they gored the men to death and left them to die with no remorse or grief. These men were murdered, struck down as they desperately pleaded for their very lives.
In a moment that was born of the grace of God, the wives of the five young men decided they would attempt to reach the tribe for Christ. In a remarkable story of forgiveness, the very tribe that had murdered their husbands, several of them were led to Jesus.
But the story doesn’t end there….
The story was first told in Elisabeth Elliot’s book Through Gates of Splendor (1957), which has become a Christian classic.
Can you imagine, you and the very ones that you love on a quest? A quest in hope to change lives for Christ; and in doing so your life is dramatically altered and you become a victim of change.
All that you have loved is lost, stripped away, killed right before your very eyes.
You want to hate…
You want to even the score…but you don’t WHY???
How could these women find the strength to reach out for the ones who caused some much pain and agony?
How and Why must Christians suffer for doing Good?
The answer to these question are found in your Bible in 1 Peter 3:8-17
LAMED FOR THEIR FAITH
Vance Havner: At the Nicene Council, an important church meeting in the 4th century A.D., of the 318 delegates attending, fewer than 12 had not lost an eye or lost a hand or did not limp on a leg--lamed by torture for their Christian faith.
BLESS YOU, PRISON
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. His writings helped to make the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labour camp system.
One night while he was in prison in Siberia, his cell mate Boris Kornfeld, a Jewish doctor, told Solzhenitsyn the story of his conversion to Christ. That same night, Kornfeld was clubbed to death. He had been dealt eight blows on the skull with a plasterer's mallet while he slept. He died the next day on the operating table, without regaining consciousness. Solzhenitsyn said that Kornfeld's last words were, "lay upon me as an inheritance."
It was that experience that caused Solzhenitsyn to write: "It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good...Bless you, prison, for having been my life."
KILL US, TORTURE US, CONDEMN US...
An early Christian leader named Tertullian (164-200AD) declared: “Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust. The more you mow us down, the more we grow, for the seed of the church is the blood of the Christians. Every single drop of our blood springs up, in some thirty, in some sixty and in some and hundred-fold.”
There ar...
A "CONQUERING" FAITH
The following story comes from Hank Hanegraaff's book, "The Last Disciple" (which refers to the Apostle John, the last one of the 12 to die). It is set within the historical context of first century Rome's persecution of the church. Leah is the sister of a young Christian named Nathan whom Caesar has sentenced to death by the wild beasts in the amphitheater.
A cacophony of sounds assailed Leah in the darkness beneath the amphitheater, sounds of quiet desperation. Groaning. Fear. Beyond those sounds coming from the prison cells on each side of the tunnel, she heard the occasional distant roar of animals trained to do the executing later.
She wanted to be brave. Needed to be brave. For Nathan.
She lifted the hem of her dress, blocked out her fear, and moved deeper into the darkness. As she left the shafts of light behind, the air seemed to close in on her, and her throat tightened as smells of suffering added to the sensation of smothering-body wastes accumulated at each cell, vomit, and the cloying, nauseating sweetness of alcohol from those fortunate few with enough money to bribe the guards and acquire the numbing forgetfulness from wine.
In this terrible labyrinth of doom and death, as darkness fell on Rome Leah began to search for her brother.
When she finally found Nathan, Leah expected to see the same despair that she'd seen in the other cells crowded with prisoners as she had peered inside, straining her eyes in the dimness to find her brother.
The prisoners gathered in her brother's cell, however, were not catatonic or drunk or wailing like those condemned to the arena for murder or robbery or arson. Instead, they were quietly singing hymns as they held hands. They were men and women and children, a dozen of them, making a joyous sound that seemed to brighten the cell as surely as if each had been holding a candle.
...
Nathan {speaking to Leah} closed his eyes briefly, "I wish so badly that you would understand. It is not turning away from the faith of our fathers. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets and the promises of God." He opened his eyes. "I'm sorry. You've heard me say that many times. I will continue to pray that you ... find this faith."
Leah did not understand. Here was Nathan. In a horrible cell. Facing a horrible death. And he prayed for others to share his faith? ...
{Nathan speaking} "It is faith in the resurrected Christ that gives us hope through all tribulations."
She gestured at the prison cell. Helpless. Hopeless. "Even through this?"
He was emphatic and looked her directly in the eye. "We willingly face brandished steel, the lion's gore, the tunica molesta because we follow the Christ and we are utterly convinced that we, like our Master, will one day rise from the grave in resurrected, glorified bodies."
Leah bowed her head. Rubbed her face. What was it about her bother's faith that made him so resolute yet so joyful?
{Nathan speaking} "The people who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away," Nathan whispered. He'd reached through the bars with both hands and gently cradled her face. "Those who are destined for death will be killed. But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity to have endurance and faith." These are the words of John, the last disciple of our savior ... and he has given us comfort."
"What is our destiny? ... For all of us, is it not death? ... I'm not afraid of dying, Leah. I am afraid that my family will never understand what faith in Jesus means. The real tragedy is not to die young. The real tragedy is to live a long life and never use it in service of the Master. If my death leads you to eternal life--"
Nathan took a deep breath. He, too, was fighting tears. "I am heartbroken too. But if I have been called to be a witness in the arena with the others who believe, I cannot deny my Savior."
...{After the Christians are led into the arena}
Instantly, the beasts stopped the frenzied circling and responded by crouching. The crowd became silent as the moment of horror approached. In this silence, a sound rose from the sand. It took several moments for Leah to realize that her brother had begun to sing a beautiful hymn. Others on the sand joined with him, and their voices rose like a choir.
This serenity and peace were not the reaction that the mob had expected, and the silence of the audience continued, more from surprise than anything. The words of the hymn became more clear as the men and women poured joy into their singing.
A few lions crept closer.
Her brother fell to his knees and clasped his hands in prayer.
The boldest lion suddenly leaped forward.
Leah... turned her head and closed her eyes in that last moment as the lion closed in on her brother with outstretched claws.
One of the subtle yet powerful undercurrent's of Hanegraaff's book is Rome's failure to comprehend the source of joy, strength, and courage the Christ-followers possessed in the face of Nero's (and others) reign of terror. THAT SOURCE, THE PRESENCE OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF OUR ABILITY TO OVERCOME AND MAINTAIN A TESTIMONY. The Romans did not understand that "conquering" did not mean victorious in battle but faithfulness to the end and its impending reward.
OLONGA'S PERSECUTION
Henry Olonga tells of when he was first selected for the Zimbabwean cricket B-Team. They were touring South Africa and staying in a luxurious Johannesburg Hotel. At that time they had to share a hotel room with a teammate and he was sharing with a more famous, white, senior player.
One night Olonga's roommate brought a girl back with him to the room and at first Olonga didn't have a clue what she was doing there. Then the girl and his roommate climbed into bed much to Henry's embarrassment. He lay there in his own bed with a blanket over his head trying to pretend it wasn't happening. Quote, "I wanted to die."
As if that was bad enough the next night his roommate called an escort agency and soon afterwards a girl arrived at their door. It was much too late at night to be going out, and once again Olonga was thoroughly embarrassed and annoyed. His roommate paid the girl and she left, at which point the 18-year-old Henry Olonga continued to lie quietly in his bed, not saying a word. His teammate laid into him, attacking Henry's Christian values.
In his autobiography he writes: "The truth, I guess, is that he felt some guilt about what he'd done. We had a discussion about faith in which we debated a few issues. I didn't report it to anybody, but it never happened again."
