"Loving Jesus More than Life"

Nov.17/02 Mt.10:21-39

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Pray and Provide for the Persecuted

The Bible League notes, "Suffering Christians ask for two things - prayers and Bibles. Christians around the world today are suffering for their faith. World Evangelical Fellowship reports that more people have died in circumstances related to their faith in this century than in all the 20th Century wars combined. But persecuted Christians are not saying, 'Stop the persecution.' Instead they plead, 'Pray for us. And send us Bibles so we can be strong.'"
             Today's message is not going to be illustrated with pleasant stories, but real-life accounts of the hardships Christians in various parts of the world are enduring on account of their love for Jesus Christ. Persecution is very real and prevalent in much of the planet, although we don't hear about it in our Western media. To begin, let's go to:

Nigeria (Africa), 2001 (Open Doors)

Tensions between Muslims and Christians increased as a result of the implementation of the sharia law in several states...In total, more than 1,000 Christians died during the riots in these states and in Jos (Plateau State) in August-November, but also Muslims were killed. Many churches and mosques were destroyed. Thousands of Christians have become refugees. In Kano 27 churches were demolished in July and September by the State Environment Planning and Protection Agency, which claimed that the churches did not comply with environmental laws. Several other churches were closed. Five Christian students died and many were injured in a clash between Muslim and Christian students in Kaduna State at the end of August. Some of the worst religious and ethnic violence broke out in Jos and environs at the beginning of September causing many deaths. In October 350 Christians were attacked and killed in Kano by Muslims protesting against the U.S. bombardments on Afghanistan. Six hundred Christians are missing...In Osogbo Muslim militants leaving a religious event addressed by a radical Islamic preacher killed one Christian and ransacked nine churches at the end of November. Also at the end of the month, four churches in Ilorin, Kwara state were destroyed by Muslim youth. Apart from the adoption of Sharia law, the high unemployment figures and social insecurity also add to the aggression.

Persecution's Prompt (21f, 34-36)

What is it that prompts persecution of Christians in the first place? Christians are not by belief or nature militants, violent, or obnoxious. Their Master's "Great Commandment" was all about love - for God and one's neighbour. Why would anyone object to that? So we must look elsewhere for the root cause of persecution.

             Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but bringing His Kingdom means conflict with the principalities of the world. He said in Matthew 10(34-36), "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Earlier in the chapter, verses 21-22, He warned, "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Why do non-believers hate Christians? "Because of Me", Jesus said -- there's something in the fallen, rebellious nature of non-Christians that can't stand His goodness, truth, and holiness reflected in the transformed character of believers. Verse 18 says "On My account you will be brought before governors...(etc)". Verse 39, "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

             So Christians are not treated harshly because of their good behaviour or their songs or worship life but because they are identified with Jesus Christ, One who claims to be Saviour and Lord for all those who will receive Him. And if you reject God and are trying to run your own show, that's the last thing you want in life. So persecution's prompt is that we're hated on account of Jesus, because of Him, for His sake.

NEWS ITEM: Indonesia (Southwest Pacific), 2001 Open Doors

In Sulawesi, a police elite force attacked a Christian village elder and his family at the end of June. In another incident Muslim vigilantes cut off the ears of a Christian doctor. More than 22 were injured in a bomb attack on a Roman Catholic Church in Jakarta in July. Later another car bomb exploded in front of a Protestant Church in the capital, injuring ten people. In Semarang, central Java, a pastor's wife had a leg amputated after sustaining injuries from a bomb thrown by a man in the parking lot of a Church, by the end of July...on 1 November, a force of 1,700 Muslim extremists attacked the Christian village of Waimulang in Buru Island, Sulawesi, killing four Christians and forcing over a thousand to flee into the jungle. Almost all of the 350 houses and a church building were burned to the ground. Then the trouble shifted to Ambon, where ten Christians were killed in several incidents. At the end of November Muslim fighters using bulldozers and tanker trucks occupied and burned four villages in the Poso district, while dozens of other Christian villages had previously been attacked in the same month. The bombing and burning of the largest church building in Poso was followed by retaliatory attacks by Christians. At the beginning of December, thousands of Christians in Sulawesi fled as a result of attacks by an extremist Islamic movement in central Sulawesi. In other attacks six Christian villages were burned, seven people killed and 50,000 displaced. Thousands of members of the Islamic organization Laskar Jihad volunteers had arrived in Sulawesi shortly before these incidents. The group has been blamed for conducting a violent campaign against the Christian community in the Moluccas. The BBC reported that gunmen in the bay of Ambon shot and killed at least nine Christians on a ferry boat on 18 December. A feared attack on Tentena was fortunately averted by the military.

Persecution's Probability (24f)

In verses 24-25 of Matthew 10, Jesus warns His followers that persecution will be very probable, a likely event for those who endeavour to live as His disciples. He said, "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!" In other words, Take note of what's happening to Me: if they're calling me "Lord of the flies" or "Prince of demons" - and end up crucifying Me - you can be sure they're not going to make it easy for anyone whose life starts to reflect Mine.

             The early Christians were very conscious of their union or identification with Jesus, and viewed their own sufferings as an extension of completion of Jesus' suffering for them in the first place. Paul told the Colossians (1:24), "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." To the Galatians (6:17) he wrote, "Let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The more we as students copy Jesus and become like Him as our Master in our conduct, the more we're going to be mistreated by those who reject God's way - just like He was mistreated. Christians in many countries are badgered, goaded, even tortured to turn away from Jesus and renounce Him.

NEWS ITEM: India (Central Asia), 2001 Open Doors

When the Christians in Hathaud village in Chattisgarh refused to renounce their faith , they were falsely accused of crimes and ten of them were arrested. Three women were released after 15 days but the men were still in detention by mid November. The Christian aid workers who refused to renounce their faith in Baragarh district of Orissa on 9 October, were severely beaten up as a result. A Christian missionary and four other Christians were detained by VHP activists on charges of forcing people to convert to Christianity and then handed them over to the police who released them later...The All Indian Christian Council mentions a new believer who was brutally attacked and beheaded for becoming a Christian in Koruva Dambara in Kendrapara district of Orissa. Ironically, the state government chose to file charges not against the three Hindu nazi culprits but against three missionaries and 18 other persons who voluntarily became Christians.

Persecution's Perspective (28)

Christians in countries where there is persecution go through terrible, shocking abuse. How do they stand it? What fortifies them mentally, what attitude do they develop to help them put up with it and cope? Jesus hints at our necessary perspective, the mindset that's required to persevere through persecution, in verse 28: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

             Faith has a lot to do with what we consider ultimately important in life, what we ultimately fear or revere. Persecuted Christians come to realize their enemies can beat them up, take away their material goods, even kill them, but those persecuted have something the enemy can't touch: a soul. That unseen, inner part of us that wills and governs the direction of our life, the secret sphere in which we love and worship and pray and move out from to extend God's grace to others. One day we will have to give an account to God our Creator of how we've tended that non-material person He's planted within each person. The rewards given out at Christ's judgment seat will far outweigh any passing trinkets this planet offers during our short stay. It's God's opinion of us that matters more than any earthly authority; we long to hear His "Well done, good and faithful servant", rather than "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt.25:21 not 41). That motivates believers not to be afraid even of corrupt officials who take away what their livelihood depends upon.

NEWS ITEM: Vietnam (Southeast Asia, World Watch List # 7) March 2000 ReligionToday

Police beat pastor To in front of a tribal village where he was witnessing. After his arrest, To told a judge he was innocent and explained he should not have been beaten. But instead of being released, To was sentenced to three years in a labor camp. When his wife heard the sentence and complained, police burned the family's Bibles. Police throughout Vietnam are trying to frighten believers into closing their churches. Recently, as a scare tactic, police took away some Christians' vehicles, farm animals, and home-registration papers. But this doesn't stop church growth. Some believers will ride for up to 12 hours on motorcycles to share the Gospel with people who live in rural areas. In some areas, church services are held in the jungle. Worship services end when the police make a surprise visit. The police punish families who host the church services. In one instance the police slaughtered a family's water buffalo, their only means to plow their rice fields. Christians travel in secret at night to avoid police when delivering Bibles. These Bibles make a huge difference to the persecuted.

Persecution's Preciousness (37-39)

Persecution forces people to stop and evaluate what's really most precious to them, what's of real worth. In many countries, adopting Christianity isolates you from the members of your family who may be devout Muslims or Hindus or Communists, and this can really stretch the kindred ties. But Jesus declares that we're not worthy of Him if we let any other tie or allegiance get in the way of knowing and serving Him; if we can relatively discount the relationships normally considered primary in this life, we'll be precious to Him. Verses 37-39: "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

             What's most precious to you? Would you be willing to give up career, home, family, your future out of love for Jesus Christ if forced to choose? Can you hold loosely onto life so that you may truly find it? "You are worth more than many sparrows," Jesus said (10:31); you were so precious to Him that He laid aside all heaven's perks and suffered torture just to set you free and offer a place at His side in an eternal home. Claiming Him as most precious in our life make us worthy of Him in turn.

NEWS ITEM: North Korea (Eastern Asia, World Watch List#1) The Bible League

North Korea has replaced Saudi Arabia as the country where Christians are the most severely persecuted, according to the (Open Doors) World Watch List. Under the communist dictatorship of Kim Jong Il, the government has attempted to eradicate all belief systems other than the worship of Kim Jong Il and his deceased father, Kim Il Sung. Christians are tortured, imprisoned, and executed for their faith. Many North Korean Christians are risking everything, including their careers, homes, families and futures for the sake of Jesus Christ. In a country where simply possessing a Bible can warrant imprisonment, one Christian faced incarceration and torture for delivering Bibles and preaching the Gospel. When he would not divulge the identities of his partners, he was beaten and deprived of sleep for four days. He was then forced to clean up the waste of the other prisoners. But God's blessing was found even in this foulness. The Christian smelled so vile that the prison officials wouldn't come near him, and he was finally able to pray without interruption. After serving two and a half years, the Christian was determined to no longer be a threat and set free. He then returned--broken physically but not spiritually--to his Christian brothers, each of whom had endured similar atrocities for their faith in Jesus Christ. They greeted him joyfully, and he soon returned to his work for the Lord.

Persecution's Promise (32f)

At the bottom line of this whole issue of persecution is a promise - a pledge by our Lord without which no one could endure what's required of thousands of Christians each day. That promise is that if we own Him before others here on earth, He'll own or claim or vouch for us before God at the final judgment. He solemnly stated in 10:32-33, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Jesus promises to own us before the Almighty if we will just own Him as Lord now in our earthly life.

             This means that right here in Canada we need to be acknowledging Christ in our daily affairs. Persecution is seldom as overt here as it is in the other countries we've been using as illustrations today. Here, persecution is more subtle, often coming in the form of peer pressure and temptation. Will we just "go along with the crowd" when they're going to an event that has elements of moral impurity? Why are we bombarded with unsolicited pornography on the email and internet? A teacher in BC was recently hauled up before the tribunal of the College of Teachers for views on Biblically immoral behaviour he expressed in public, not in the classroom. The roommate of a believer in college takes glee in downloading porn onto this young man's computer, which he then has to sort through and delete quickly so as not to be drawn into looking at the pictures. If we say "There's no religious persecution in Canada," why are we so reluctant to be seen praying in public? Persecution takes many forms, some blatant, some very subtle. But Christ holds out to us a promise of a far better eternal existence with Him if we'll acknowledge Him here and now. That promise of heaven is what motivated a young Albanian girl who suffered for her commitment to Jesus...

NEWS ITEM: Albania (Southern Europe), 2002 The Bible League

As she began studying God's Word last year, Zana Gjoni, a young Albanian girl, appealed to her friends and neighbors to commit their lives to God. She began a letter with Peter's words in Acts 3:19 - "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out...." Zana was confident her own sins had been wiped clean when she accepted Christ as her Savior. The Holy Spirit began working in Zana's heart when she received "Who is God?," the first booklet in the Bible League's Project Philip program in Albania. A local Christian trained by The Bible League helped disciple Zana. At the end of six months, she earned her very own copy of the Bible.Zana eagerly learned more and more about Jesus, accepting Him as Lord and Savior of her life. Her once-dark life now shone brightly with God's love. But there were those around her who would not accept the change in her life, her love for the Lord. They threatened her - and on August 9, 2000, they raped and killed her. Near the end of her letter, Zana had written about her repentance, "Now life will have a new meaning and a new purpose. As a child of God, a believer must wait willingly for the glory of heaven." She did not wait long to share in the glory of heaven. But during her short time on earth as a believer, Zana's faith impacted others. Following her tragic death, her 24-year-old brother professed Jesus as his own Lord and Savior. That is the power of God's Word.

In closing today, I'd like to show a visual presentation downloaded from International Christian Concern. It has some disturbing pictures of your Christian sisters and brothers around the world who know persecution firsthand. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to use this presentation to prepare our hearts for a time of sincere prayer for the persecuted church (since that's what today's all about). On your handout you'll also find some "prayer points" about five different countries. Following the slides, let's move our chairs into circles of 4 or 5 and spend time praying about what you've seen and heard today. Maybe the person closest to the front can take the first concern and divvy the rest out clockwise from there. Pray out loud or silently if you prefer, any order. But pray; when one member of the body hurts, all hurt together (1Cor.12:26). Be a voice for those who are unheard.