EXPECT TENSION

For those of faith in Jesus and lovers of God’s eternal, unchanging truth, the Bible reveals that spiritual darkness is intensifying. But we can be a .

What the tension will be like:

• 2 Timothy 3.1-5 (The Message) Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

Human depravity, which still holds :

• Judges 17:6 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
• Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

If you follow Jesus, you’ll encounter . If you follow the ways of this world, you’ll be .

• John 15:18-19 (Since) If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

Taking a stand for Jesus and truth can cost us friends, lead to ostracism, ridicule, cancellation, or even threaten our lives. 

This is not the time for retreat; we are in a spiritual war.

• Ephesians 6:10-12 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
• Acts 7:57-59 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him 58 and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
• Stephen was martyred for speaking the truth.

The messenger dies; the message with influence.The messenger dies, and the message masses of people.

• John 17:13-19 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

• • Not of the World: This means having a value system that is not conformed to worldly standards or desires.
  • Sanctified by Truth: Believers are set by God’s truth (His word) and are transformed by a renewed mind, leading them to resist the corrupt patterns of the world.
  • Separation from Evil: Rather than asking God to remove believers from the world, Jesus asks Him to them from the evil one and its influences. 

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Tertullian (160-240 AD)

• Acts 4:19 “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him?”
• Acts 8:1-4 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3 But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison. 4 But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.
• James 1:6-8 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

“I’m far more interested in what God wants from me than what I want from God.”  Charlie Kirk

• Isaiah 6.8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
• Hebrews 12:3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
• Go into the World confident in God’s grace, His love for all people, His love for you, His truth, and heaven that awaits every faithful follower of Jesus, the Messiah.

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I understand that the penalty for my sin is physical, spiritual, and eternal death. I acknowledge that I cannot fix my situation on my own. I believe You are calling me to have faith. I am being drawn to the truth of the gospel. But I know that You came to pay the penalty for my sin. I trust in You alone as the One who died in my place. I repent of my sins and believe in You as the only One who can establish an eternal relationship with the living God. I want to be Your child and to live as Your child. In Your name, Amen.

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