Tag: Providence

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James Sermon

An eternal perspective on poverty and riches: James 1:9-11

We are doing a series called “Faith in Action” and the topic we will explore today is on having a heavenly perspective of poverty and riches, the passage we are looking at is James 1:9-11.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. – James 1:9-11

First of all, let me once again reminded that James primary audience are believers, men and women who have put their trust in God, and because of their faith in Christ they are now living in a foreign land away from the place of birth, among unknown people groups, and going through trials.

And among those believers, some of them were poor and some of them were rich.

In verse 9 the lowly brother is in reference to the poor, and what James is saying is that the poor brother should be proud of his position, why? Because being a poor man his dependence is on the Lord all the time, he trusts the Lord evermore for his daily needs, he has a humble demeanour & contrite spirit, and therefore James is saying it a good standing to have in the eyes of God.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus mentions about the lowly saying “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” therefore James is saying, boast in your high position as a born-again believer, called to the true riches in Christ.

On the other hand, to the rich Christians, James is saying that they should boast in their humiliation, being humbled, humbled by the trials that reveal human frailty, their sinful and boastful heart, knowing that true riches are found in the grace of God.

You may ask how can being rich be a humiliation.

Imagine a moment when you have all the money and wealth in the world, and even after having all of that you see how wretched and sinful you are.

And because you have money it is now even more easy for you to indulge in your sinful pleasures, access to everything at your fingertips. Instead of feeling happy, you are only feeling more miserable about yourselves, and In addition to that, there is Pride and a boastful spirit towards God and people.

Can rich people feel humiliated in that position?

Yes of course!

Like Solomon who said “I have seen and done all things under the sun and have found them futile, a chasing after the wind.

I have considered all the works my hands have accomplished and toiled for and found them futile.”

And therefore, while addressing the rich he is also reminding them of the fading nature of worldly riches. Its there today and gone tomorrow, like the flower of the grass that withers away under the scorching heat of the sun.

At one time it may look good, beautiful and pleasing to the eyes and in a moment it can be taken away, right in the middle of our pursuit of riches it can be taken away forever.

And as we are looking at both these statements made about the poor and the rich, James is not suggesting that to be poor is better than being rich.

Because there are passages in the bible that also tells us that poverty could be the result of sin & laziness (Prov 10:4), it can be a result of ignoring God’s ways (Proverbs 13:8, 18), Prov 10:15 also suggests that the poor are brought to ruin by their poverty, poverty can affect relationships (19:4,7), and it can even tempt him to steal (30:7-9)

and that there is profit in hard work (Proverbs 10:4; 14:23). The Bible tells of many wealthy men who followed God: Abraham, Job, David, Solomon, Zaccheus and others.

Brothers & sisters, whether you consider yourself as a poor person or as a rich person, it is important to have a heavenly perspective regarding your current state, and if we do not cultivate a heavenly perspective we are in trouble, whether we are rich or poor.

Why? Because whether we are poor or rich, trails in life are inevitable, both of them go through trials of different nature.

Therefore, the rest of our time, I want to talk about the heavenly perspectives we need to cultivate, whether we are rich or poor.

1. Money, fame or wealth will not save us from the trials of life.

Growing up most of us have been taught and programmed to believe that money, fame, position and wealth is the ultimate goal in life. When we have money we can buy anything we want, go anywhere we like and that will make us happy.

And therefore, we spend our whole lives pursuing these things. Especially when some of us go through trails that are caused due to lack of money and resources, we think only if I had lots of money I wouldn’t have had struggles in life.

But in reality, that isn’t true. If you look around and watch the ones who’ve achieved these things, we will learn that these things never make us happy, rather we end in a trial of different nature, sometimes related to health, sometimes related to our children etc.

You can be found having a deadly sickness which money can’t take away, or your children completely ashtray, away from God which money cant bring back.

A famous Hollywood actor once said, “Everyone should get rich and famous so that they learn that being rich and famous is not the answer”. Yes, there is some truth in that statement.

Recently I saw this documentary of a young Jazz singer girl by the name of Amy Winehouse, at a very early age she started writing songs and quite famous in a short span of time.

From the age of 16 she struggled with depression and hoped that it will get better if she received fame & money, but unfortunately as she was rising up to fame and become popular, she got into unhealthy relationships, struggled with drugs and at age 27 died due to accessive alcohol consumption.

If money and fame was the answer to life’s struggles then Amy would have been alive today, but that is not what is true.

I am reminded of the story of a rich greedy man. One day a genie came to him asked him to wish for anything. The man, because he was greedy for more wealth asked the genie to grant him a power by which whatever he touch would turn into gold, and the genie granted him his wish.

Immediately after that he went to eat food that was on the dining table and as soon as he touched the food it turned into gold, and in the next moment his children came to give him a hug and they too turned into gold. He got the gold but he lost the capability to consume food that would keep him alive, and also lost the affections of his loved ones.

Friends, in God’s Kingdom, worldly wealth holds no value, it’s just a piece of paper in your hand and a number in your bank account. And if you think more money and wealth will save you from all your troubles than you are mistaken.

God is more interested in deep heart transformation than making people prosper for no reason. You can be a poor person and through your dependence and trust in God, by walking in humility before Him, allow Him to change your heart, transform you into the image of His son Jesus and use you for the glory of His name.

And you can be a rich person, who is humble and contrite in heart, trusting him and savouring His grace in your life, …. allowing Him …

Think of all the precious moments you are missing out in your life where God is working in your heart, just because your heart is somewhere in the future, thinking of the day when you will get a promotion, a raise in salary, an inheritance from your parents and a business deal you also wanted.

As a Christian, every day God is doing something beautiful in our heart, it may look quite small to you now but it will bear much fruit if you yield towards it.

And how does he work in our heart?

He works through the transforming power of the Gospel, which brings me to the second perspective we need to cultivate regarding poverty & riches.

2. Besides Jesus there is nothing in this world that will satisfy us, that includes money, wealth & possession.

To feel happy, what we truly need is heart transformation and not more money. And heart transformation only happens when our hearts are inclined to the Gospel.

The bible says, by nature, we are sinful people, as long as we live in the flesh we are sinful. And a sinful flesh only produces corruption and hatred. We know that was not how God created us to be, he created us to live a full life, walking in obedience to Him and worshipping Him. But believed the lie the serpent told us, when he told us that we can be like God, we liked the idea and therefore rebelled and sinned against God.

The brokeness, agony, restlessness, dissatisfaction, the pain we experience, whether we are poor or rich is the result of our sin against God. Therefore, the poor to desire riches is not the answer, because a lot of rich have sold everything to become monks and sadhus and still miserable under the burden of their sin.

What we truly need is a restored relationship with God, and we can’t earn it on our own capabilities and good works. The help is provided by God himself, only through His grace and mercy which he showed us through His son Jesus can restore it back.

Our response to his love and grace is an act of obedience, where we come to Him in repentance and ask his forgiveness, and trust in his on Jesus with all our heart, mind and soul.

Therefore, even in times of trials, the poor, instead of grumbling, complaining about the lack of money should instead boast in their position as a child of God, and for the work, He is doing in our heart through the trials they are going through.

The rich, instead of allowing the humiliation of our riches to press you down and take you to places you shouldn’t go, do things you shouldn’t do should remind themselves of the vanity of wealth and cherish the true riches they have in Christ alone.

Therefore, the questions we need to ask is not whether we need to stay poor and become rich, the question we need to ask is whether we are rich or poor are we enjoying Christ and his redeemer work in our heart.

I hope you hear the Holy Spirit of God speaking to you

I like to end my sermon with a beautiful confession from Paul in 4:10-13

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

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Mark Sermon

Abomination of Desolation – Mark 13:14-27

In this sermon, we will be looking at a somewhat tricky as well a relevant passage. Let me warn you that this is not one of those passages that brings comfort to the soul. Instead, this passage will disturb us, convict us but at the same time also bring hope and assurance of God’s love and his faithfulness.

If I were a prosperity preacher I wouldn’t have preached from this passage because there is nothing in this passage that gives a prosperity feeling; instead, it gives us goosebumps and makes us uncomfortable.

I’m thankful that we choose to preach through the books of the Bible, and that we’ve stumbled upon this important passage this morning.

Let us come to God with an open mind and a humble spirit as we read from our passage today which is Mark 13:14-27

[READ]

The context of this passage is that as Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Our later passages reveal that Jesus was, in fact, talking about the destruction of the temple.

And as Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, a couple of disciples privately asked him “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

In response, Jesus warns them against Counterfeits, Calamities & Persecution. Brother Jinson, in his last sermon, explained to us what our faithful reaction should be when we encounter counterfeits, calamities & persecution.

In our passage today Jesus continues his conversation and points the disciples to two events.

The first event is the destruction of the temple that was supposed to happen in their generation and to those people as per the prophecy made by Daniel which is recorded in the book of Daniel chapter 9. And the second event is the final day when Christ, the son of God will appear in heaven.

As per bible scholars, the destruction of the temple occurred in the year 175-64 B.C when a King Antiochus who ruled Palestine treated Israel with violence and contempt. When the people stood against him, he came with his forces, entered the temple, stopped the regular sacrifices, set up an idol of Zeus on the altar. This is an abomination because it is idolatry, and it brings desolation because it defiles the holy place at the heart of Israel. This act was the abomination “of” desolation, the abomination “causing” desolation.

And the second event, which Jesus talks about is his return, which is yet to be fulfilled. Which means, for us today, on a timeline we are somewhere right in the middle of these two events.

For those of you who are wondering about the difference in time between these two events, 2 Peter 3:8-9 tells us that a 100 years is like a day for God. Which means according to God’s calender it just been 2 days.

And for those who want to know when are the end times. The answer is we are in the end times. The end times began right after Jesus was ascended to heaven.

If I have to use a military analogy, then we are right now in the enemies camp where Satan is the god of this world. (2 Cor 4:4) We are living in an era where suffering, persecution, false prophets, false preaching of the Gospel is rampant.

We live in a world where world peace is just a dream. No matter which political party or leader arise to make this world a better place. We will never see that accomplished until the coming of our Lord Jesus.

Satan is ruling the hearts and minds of many and the people he hates the most is the elect children of God.

According to a report published by an organisation called Open Doors in Jan 2018, 1 in 12 Christians all over the world live in a place where Christianity is illegal, forbidden or are punished.

We all are under the schemes of the enemy, either physical, mental or spiritual where he is using every possible tool to take away our affections for God and erect an idol in our heart, mind and soul.

But there is a day coming when Christ our saviour will return to his chosen people, and take us out of this earth. It is written in 1 Cor 15:52, in a twinkle of an eye, we will be taken up with Christ.

Remember, this promise is only for those who’ve genuinely put their faith in Christ.

We were once in the enemies of God, born in sin, lived sinful lives, destined to die the eternal death. But God in his great mercy sent his son Jesus to rescue us from this wicked world by taking our punishment and dying in our place. And it is only when we repent of our sins and put our trust in Jesus that we are called his elect.

I want to urge you, therefore, If anyone in this room who haven’t repented of their sins and hadn’t honestly put their faith in Christ, I want to urge you to do so without delay. So that you may also be rescued from this wicked world and taken up in heaven when our saviour Jesus comes.

This morning, my intention is not to spend time predicting the events and dissecting the prophetic fulfilment. But I want to focus more on what does all this mean to us today and how do we live our lives in the midst of all this.

I want to share 4 practical instructions I see in the text that can help us navigate our journey in this period of suffering, persecution and trouble.

1.We have to be well informed & alert

4 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Jesus to telling “let the reader understand”

A reader is someone who is a well-informed person. And then he says “When you see the Abomination of Desolation standing, run to the mountains.”

Tell me. What happens in a war when people are stuck in the enemies camp and they are totally lost and unaware of what’s happening around them? They die.

In a battle, the enemy will do anything to keep our minds distracted, so that, when we are attached we are clueless.

1 Peter 5:8 says “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. “

We need to identify areas in our life where the enemy is keeping us occupied & distracted?

  • For some of you, he’s kept you distracted with the pleasures of this world
  • For some with all kinds of personal problems (within the family, within the church, etc)
  • For some with great Career aspirations
  • For some with the lust of the flesh
  • For some with pride of Life

And because of our distracted pursuits apart from living out the plan and purpose of God in our lives we’ve put ourselves in situations and in places that are danger zones.

In Colossians 4 Paul writes “Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity.”

Brother and sisters, in this battle, if we do not stay well-informed & alert, we will get injured, and we will die in the hands of the enemy.

A well informed Christian is one who is reading and meditating on the scriptures day and night. Looking for clues and answers to difficult circumstances and finding ways to tackle them in Godly ways.

We have to be aware of our own weaknesses and how to protect our lives from our own self.

We have to know the truth of God’s word in its entirety so that we are not swayed away by false prophets, wrong doctrines and false gospels.

2. We have to take careful steps

The second instruction I see in the passage is to take careful steps and flee when the enemy comes to destroy our soul and erect an Idol in place of God.

It is not enough for us to be well-informed, but we also need to be obedient and take necessary actions to flee from evil.

The meaning of the word Abomination of Desolation is the Establishment of an Idol in place of God that has the potential to bring destruction.

By idols, I just don’t mean the physical structures made out of mud and sand but also the hidden idols in our hearts that take away our place of affection for God.

It could be a person in your life
It could be a thing in your life
It could be a desire in your life
Our job can become an idol
Our children can become our idols

Mark 13:14-18 Jesus

“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter.

Jesus is saying when you see the sign of the Abomination of Desolation, his instruction is to flee.

When we are in places, in relationships, in circumstances where the enemy is trying to erect an idol in our heart, we have to flee from it.

Paul often uses the words ‘flee’ in his letters to help us draw near to God.

1 Corinthians 10:14
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

2 Timothy 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

If we have to survive, don’t let the enemy construct an idol in your heart, a place where God dwells and take necessary action whenever it is required.

To the extreme where Jesus said in Matthew 5:29 “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.”

3. We have to depend on the Master’s providence

V20. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

What this verse suggests is that even in times of trouble, suffering and persecution, the Lord’s grace & providence is always upon us.

He works everything for the good of those who love and trust in him.

When we are in the battle, there will be temptations to trust in our humanly instincts and abilities which can lead us to more trouble. But instead, we have to always trust in God’s providence for the moment.

Whether we face people who threaten us, situations that seem dangerous, temptations that push us to the limits. Always trust in God’s providence and his grace.

We see Paul’s dependence on God’s providence as he writes in 2 Cor 12:10 “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong”.

In his weakness, he knows he can trust in God’s strength.

And our greatest comfort comes from the presence of the Spirit of God dwelling among us. So trust in God’s providence and not on our strength.

Ask more for his Holy Spirit and Pray diligently at all times. And he will guide us at every step of our lives.

4. We have to wait for the Master’s return

And finally, we have to spend your days waiting for the Master to return and take you with him without losing hope.

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

In the light of the latter event of our Lords coming back for us, we have to be like the 5 virgins mentioned in Matthew 25:1-13 who kept their lamps burning until they saw the bridegroom arrive.

We can’t give up, no matter how badly we are injured. No matter how secluded our life has become while living in the enemy’s territory.

We have to hope in the Lord and his promises.

A day will come when our Lord, our saviour will come to take us with him. Even if we are dead physically, our bodies will rise and meet with our Lord and saviour.

We ought to live with hope in our hearts, that we will one day enter into his presence with joy and satisfaction.

Conclusion

As I conclude, let us examine our lives. Have we been living all these days carelessly?

Distracted with the things of the world and uninformed of the truths. Are we failing to take careful steps and make wise decisions for our lives? Are we failing to depend on the providence and grace of God? Are we living without hope?

It’s time that we repent and turn to God.

Lets Pray.

Categories
Mark Sermon

Marks of a true disciple – Mark 13:1-13

Good morning church! This week we will jump back to our series from the gospel of Mark. We took a small break to do some stand alone sermons over the last month and now we are excited to continue with our Mark series. We are currently in Mark 13 and the events of today’s passage take place during Passion Week. Sometime between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday which was on Passover night.  The Jewish leaders are becoming increasingly hostile toward Jesus at this point.

Literally every passage mentions phrases like “they’re trying to argue with him, trap him, arrest him and destroy him, arrest him” and that’s because Jesus is openly condemning their hypocrisy and exposing their sin. Most of the events surrounding these last few days before Jesus’ death takes place in and around the Jerusalem temple. In spite of knowing what was going to happen to Him, Jesus boldly and willingly presents Himself in front of the very people that are going to crucify Him so that He can offer the sacrifice that can “take away your sins and mine”. That’s the context and let’s jump into today’s text from Mark 13:1-13:

Historically, this topic of “end times” has always fascinated the church. Some churches have heavily focused on this topic of “end times” and they’ll only study and talk about the book of Daniel or Revelations. The danger sometimes is that we can end up spending too much of time and add our own meanings to these symbols. On the other hand, theologians have had wars over for many years debating over when exactly is the end of age and Christ’s return – Pre-millenial, Post-millenial etc. And from this passage, we realize that the disciples also wanted to know about the end times. So it’s not a new question. But I find Jesus’ answer astonishing.

It almost seems like Jesus’ isn’t answering the question but He is. Jesus’ answer on end times is to tell them that they need to be concerned about enduring till the end. They need to be concerned about their response to various difficult situations that are going to come before them. Because what’s mentioned here are severe hardships and I think what this passage is telling us is that a true disciple will endure by the grace of God. And I think that’s the real question that we need to deal with today is am I going to endure till the end? How do I know if my faith is sincere and real?

What’s my response to Counterfeits (v5-6)

There are going to be many counterfeits that are going to come in Jesus’ name saying that they are the Christ. Probably they’ll be able to perform wonders and miraculous signs. Probably they’ll teach with great oratory skills. And not just that but many are going to be led astray. There are going to be many followers of false-Christs. That’s what’s going to make this tricky. Today if you were to buy something from Amazon, what would you look for? Reviews and ratings, right? The more popular the reviews, the more likely you’ll buy this product. And here you’ll find yourself in a place where these counterfeits are having massive followers. So how can we know who’s the real Christ and who isn’t?

If someone happened to give you a fake Rs. 500 bank note, how would you know it’s fake? Because the fake note would probably match the original 95% but there will be that 5% difference which will need to be spotted. And only if you’ve seen the original note and studied it would you be able to identify the fake. In the same way, Christ has revealed Himself to us through the written Word – the Bible. Jesus said that all the Scriptures bear witness about Jesus (John 5:39). So if we are sincerely trying to understand God through the Bible, we will see Jesus shine forth brightly through the pages. We can’t help but notice the person of Jesus & the redeeming work of Christ mentioned in every passage from Genesis to Revelation.

I was encouraged by listening to our brother’s testimony yesterday where he shared how his family came to know Jesus around the time when he was born. They were the first to believe in their entire tribe. Although he saw the faith being lived out in his parents, he didn’t own it until he was in 16. And as he read the Bible, God opened up his heart to see Jesus and understand what Jesus did for him – and he responded in faith on Jesus and got saved! And that’s the wonderful truth about the Bible. When we read the Bible – it’s not to learn about history but to learn about His Story! It’s not a rule book for life but an invitation to grow in a Relationship with Jesus! Through the Bible we get to know His character, His power, His Sacrifice, His Example and His Purposes. And not in just a factual knowledge kind of way. Jesus reveals it to us personally through His Spirit so that we can grow in an intimate relationship with Him.  Your intimate relationship is going to help you discern if it’s your loving Savior or not! If we truly know Christ and listen to His voice everyday through the Bible, we don’t need anyone else to tell us – this is Christ or that one is Christ. We know for sure ourselves….

And that’s exactly what Jesus meant from John 10:3-5: The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

And that gets reflected a lot of the times in which we think and refer to Jesus. Think about brothers and sisters…do you think and refer to Jesus from a third person’s perspective or first person’s perspective? Is Jesus just someone else’s God or is He “your God and your Lord” where you have known Him yourself and you are getting to know Him more and more intimately each day? Let’s evaluate our hearts and honestly answer if we have truly known Jesus? Not through your pastor or your friend…Do you know Jesus for who He is? If the answer is “I don’t know. I’m not sure”, I think the best place to start from is the Bible and I would encourage you to get in touch with one of the leaders and we would love to get you connected with another brother and sister who can walk with you as you are trying to know Jesus. 

What’s my response to Calamities (v7-8)

7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

The second reality that signals the start of the end times are increasing wars and calamities. Nations are going to war with other nations and various earthquakes and famines will be taking place all over the world. This reality is going cause serious physical harm to your safety and your property and your provisions. And Jesus says these are the “beginning of birth pains” which means that the frequency will increase and duration of this as well. This isn’t a pleasant thing to witness but why would Jesus tell us to “not be alarmed”? Are we to ignore this calamity and pretend like it never happened? How can we not be troubled by this?

I think the reason why believers can remain assured even during disasters such as wars and earthquakes and famines is because:

  • We know of God’s providence

God is in complete control of all things in the universe. He not only knows what’s going to happen in the future but He also governs its destiny. I like the way the writer of Proverbs 16 mentions it. He says “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Prov 16:33)”. It’s like the most random thing in the world is to roll the dice but God is somehow still in control of every outcome. I hope you don’t take this as a reason to take decisions by rolling the dice but understand the proverb that there is nothing random or shocking or “out of control” for God. He always is in control. Even in extreme situations like earthquakes, famines and wars, God governs it and purposefully uses it for His glory.

  • We know of a certain future

The Christian life is a life of faith – believing and trusting in promises that God (who doesn’t lie or break his promise) has made for us. Although wars and calamities are realities that might momentarily affect believers but beyond that it won’t because they long for a better place, a better country and better home that’s not on earth but in heaven. Let’s hear what the writer of Hebrews says: 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Heb 11:14-16)

Again, let’s pause and ask ourselves when we think about the impending end times and the calamities that it’s going to bring – does that make you insecure? I understand these are not easy realities to face but ask yourself – what’s stopping me from trusting in God’s providence and the certain future in heaven? Is it because I love my life on the earth so much that I can’t think of losing it? Or is it because I don’t really trust that God is in control of everything?

What’s my response to Persecution (v9-13)

The third thing that is reality during the end times will be severe persecution! I remember brother sharing how India’s rank on the persecuted nations list keeps rising each week.

Jesus tells us that during the end times it’s going to bring persecution from very powerful and influential people, sometimes from religious people who think they are serving God and sometimes even from our own family which probably affects us the most. We will be “hated” and disliked and hugely unpopular for living and talking about Jesus Christ. Yes, that’s true but we will also have the privilege of bearing witness and telling them of how good and how merciful is our God. And we don’t have to prepare a sermon or prepare great arguments or be anxious on what to say at that time.

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will give us the words and will speak through us during that time. During that time of persecution, the Holy Spirit will empower us in a very special and powerful way. And I think that should make us look forward to this.   In Acts 8 we see how Stephen is being executed and that same day a great persecution came against the church in Jerusalem which scattered the church throughout Samaria and Judea. We come to Acts 11 and we see how some believers reached Antioch and start sharing the gospel and eventually a church is birthed out of nowhere.

The church of Antioch then becomes the launching pad to send out Paul and Barnabas as church planters to many other places! Especially in urban churches like in our context, the tendency would be to avoid this conversation or minimize the discussions around persecution but as we look at Scripture it seems like a divinely ordained way to advance the gospel of Jesus. I understand why there could be a fear at the thought of it and I know some of us are experiencing it right now but let me encourage us to not look at it negatively but rather embrace the purposes that God has through this in order to use us, reach the lost with the gospel and ultimately bring glory to Himself.