19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.3 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-3:5
Just this week Ta’azia’s home was burned by militant Fulani Muslims in Nigeria. Many Christians living in the Central African Republic (CAR) have no other option than living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) because of frequent attacks on their homes and villages from Islamic rebels. BRUNEI: Praise God that Christians are baptized despite government persecution. Susanna Koh’s husband, Pastor Raymon Koh, was abducted off the streets of Malaysia in 2017; his whereabouts and condition remain unknown. Susanna continues to seek the truth of her husband’s disappearance and finds hope in the new judge assigned to her case. 1
When Paul discipled the new believers in Thessalonica (present-day Thessaloniki, Greece) he made it clear that they would face persecution and affliction because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his Kingdom. Jesus made this a promise of sorts.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
John 15:18-20
The rapidly growing church in the Global South is quite aware of this promise of affliction and it is not slowing down the growth of the Word of the Lord. It is what they expect.
The church in the West has been largely immune from this kind of affliction and persecution for hundreds of years. We have come to believe, contrary to what Jesus and Paul had to say, that the peace we have known is normal. It is actually exceptional. It is not what Jesus promised for believers in this present age. There will come a time of perfect peace when we enter the New Heaven and New Earth, but until then, we should expect the promised affliction.
This promise of affliction has become, I believe, a warning for the church in the West. We who have grown up in peace and rest should prepare for the affliction that is to come and, to some degree, is here already. I don’t have some prophetic insight into the details of what is to come, I only have the wisdom and discernment that comes from years of reading and meditating in the Scriptures and observing what is going on in our culture. It is clear from Scripture that a people who have known the Lord and turned from him will not continue to know the blessing and prosperity that they have once known unless they radically repent en masse.
I pray for that repentance.
If there is no en masse repentance, how do we prepare ourselves?
Paul wrote to Timothy,
my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed…
2 Timothy 3:11-14
Do not turn from the teachings of Scripture that you have been taught, assuming you have been taught by faithful teachers of God’s Word.
Remember Satan’s first line of attack is, “Did God say…?”
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12
During persecution and affliction, remember that your reward is great in heaven, so rejoice.
We should probably be paying special attention to the words of Peter.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
1 Peter 4:11-14
It is in sharing in Christ’s sufferings through our afflictions and persecutions that we also share in his glory, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us.
Am I ready for the afflictions and persecutions that probably await the church in the West? I don’t know. I don’t think any of us know the answer to that question with absolute certainty until the test is upon us. I hope I am. I believe my love for Jesus will be greater than my love for this world or my fear of losing things I hold too dear.
Scripture has promised that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. This promise of Scripture has become, I believe, a warning to the church in the West to be prepared.
Remember:
- Recognize the lie(s) the devil is telling you. Things like, They don’t trust you, You’re not good enough, etc. Take your pick of lies the devil can tell you to stop you in your tracks.
- Identify specific Bible passages that refute the lies and support what you believe is God’s truth concerning you.
- Renounce the lie(s) specifically.
