Armed For Life - [1 Peter 4:1-6]

All right, well, I would invite you to open your Bibles to 1st Peter chapter 4 And we're going to be looking at verses 1 to 6 tonight.

You know, there's a sportscaster that Mike and I are both very familiar with and he says this a lot

When he's talking about the toughness that it takes to compete in sports. He says When the going gets tough quit

When life gives you lemons quit when your back is up against the wall quit and Of course, he's joking.

He wants to be funny but life Gives us lemons life is tough.

The Christian life is very difficult We are not to ever quit

In fact, first Peter was written to a group of Christians so that they might not quit not in just silly circumstances

But in very serious circumstances How do you respond when persecution comes

Well, I'm not going to recap the entire book of 1st Peter because we'd be here and I have to do part 2 next week but Let's just say this, you know, he starts and he mixes in he starts with theology

He mixes in theology constantly a lot and and with a lot of practical application even to the point of you know

What happens when persecution is in your home and he's constantly applying this theology to our lives

Peter knew about Persecution he had seen it firsthand the church grew in the face of persecution and he knew by virtue of the

Holy Spirit That the persecution of the church that they were experiencing then was only going to Escalate let's look at 1st

Peter chapter 4 verses 1 to 6 Therefore Since Christ has suffered in the flesh

Arm yourselves also with the same purpose Because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin

So as the live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men

But for the will of God For the time already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the

Gentiles Having pursued a course of sensuality lust drunkenness carousing drinking parties and Abominable idolatries in all this they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same

Excesses of dissipation and they malign you But they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead

For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead

That though they are judged in the flesh as men They may live in the spirit according to the will of God now tonight

I Want to draw your attention to four commands They're either given directly or implied in the text and really the imperative is to arm

Yourselves and all the other points kind of a line under that I Want to draw your attention to four commands given or implied in our text so that you will want to conduct every second of the rest of your

God -given days in a way that will reflect well on your Savior and Display your faith and hope are completely in him

This passage will show us will stress the importance of a life Well -prepared even armed as it were to suffer if Required by God.

How do you respond in difficult circumstances? What are we to do? How are we to think?

This text will help us to understand that our first command in verse 1 arm yourselves with the purpose of Christ Therefore since Christ has suffered in the flesh arm yourselves also with the same purpose

Now that first word therefore you hear this cliche was therefore therefore will it is an immediate call

To go back to the previous text specifically it refers back to first Peter 3 18

That's what the therefore is therefore. That's the purpose of it first Peter 3 18 Says this for Christ also died for sins once for all the just for the unjust

So that with the purpose that he might bring us to God Haven't been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the

Spirit That's what Peter means when he says that Christ has suffered in the flesh.

How did he suffer? He suffered more than anyone ever had he was put to death even death on a cross

And what was the result of his suffering? It was the forgiveness of sins our sins

Imputed to Christ who is the just one the just died for the unjust the one who had needed no

Declaration by God to be just he was inherently just he was inherently righteous

He was innocent He also reconciled us to God.

He brought us to God Jesus came with the expressed purpose of doing the

Father's will that's what he said right in John 638 he didn't come to do his own will but the will of him who sent me the will of the

Father and What was the Father's will if we looked at Isaiah 53? It was the

Father's good pleasure to crush Christ suffered in the flesh indeed.

He was crushed by the purpose and plan of God the Father Why it was for our ultimate good it secured for us the promise of heaven

Something we could not do for ourselves So as what Peter is writing in verse 1 here that we are to have that same

Purpose is he is he mean we need to suffer. Is that what he's saying? Is it like this idea, you know

The Martin Luther and the monks during the Middle Ages would crawl across broken glass or they would climb up State stairs on their knees to get time out of purgatory

By the way, I suggested that P should be in that series and P should stand for purgatory, but that's neither here nor there

Is that what he means that we need to suffer just like Jesus did well the word translated purpose means

The same way of thinking we need to have the same mindset the same way of thinking that Jesus did

That same way of thinking what was it again? Jesus came to do the Father's will so that same way of thinking would be to put the will of God Ahead of everything else.

Our number one priority is to please the Father Peter tells us that we need to have that same mindset that same purpose that Christ had and Note that Peter writes that you are to arm yourselves arm yourselves

This is a command and this verb is used only Here in the New Testament, and I so enjoyed this verb that I had to read it to you.

It is hop light so or hop lid so Which is basically it's the verbal form of hop lights

And it means to and I'll explain what a hop light is here in a minute for those of you who don't know

But hop lid so means to get ready especially by equipping or arming or preparing oneself

Now What are hop lights for those of you who study ancient history hop lights were

Greek warriors? And they generally armed themselves right before battle Why?

Because that stuff weighed a ton they could have 70 pounds worth of equipment They were putting on and it's not something that you really, you know, just walked around in every day

So they would do it right before battle now think about how crazy it would be Here comes the opposing army here

You are in formation, but you're not going to put your stuff on because you don't want to carry that around You just wait and you wait and you wait the fighting starts and you go

Yeah, maybe I'll put it on now no That's not how it would be the whole idea of being a hop light was to be ready for battle to be ready to jump in now

How about how about this? How about a police officer out on the beat and You know some kind of emergency comes along a robbery something like that and he goes hey hang on for a second got to go to my trunk and get my my gun just Hold your position.

I'll be back in a minute The idea here the picture he's painting is to be ready to go to be armed to be prepared

To have a mindset ahead of time that bad times are coming and I am going to be ready

So why would we think? Why would we think after seeing this? That we have no obligation

Now even now to prepare for suffering We need to have the same mindset of Christ as Christ that we are going to do the will of the

Father We are going to be ready to do that. Whatever it is Why would anyone think why would you think that there will be a warning?

You know that we're gonna be able to see the smoke from the approaching army the dust clouds or whatever They're gonna come up and they're going to announce what they're going to do.

There's an imperative. There's a command There's a necessity to be ready right now

Peter commands his readers and you by extension to be prepared to handle difficulty

By having that same mindset the Lord did even in the face of unjust persecution

And what was the end result of that his death? He didn't deserve it Whatever comes the key to successfully

Representing the Lord who bought you is being prepared to humbly submit to the will of God You are not to be distracted

You are a man or a woman on a mission given to you by the

King of the universe Peter is simply echoing what Christ himself said on many occasions

Did he not say that if you're going to follow him you must take up your cross daily?

He wasn't talking about carrying something and he certainly wasn't talking about wearing a nice little pretty jewel

Jewelry thing around your neck a little necklace He meant believers had to be willing to sacrifice anything

Including their own lives to follow him The cross was certainly not a fashion statement in ancient

Israel It was a sign of death as past pastor Mike has said on many occasions There were maybe about 30 ,000

Jews who were crucified They knew the people who listened to Jesus knew exactly what the cross represented death a painful death

Jesus did not make He did not lower the bar so the people would follow him salvation in and of itself requires what

Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ It's absolutely free. You don't have to do anything.

You just believe you invest yourself entirely in Christ and that faith costs you everything it's free and then it costs you everything and Peter is calling his readers to a life that could

Potentially cost them everything why as he said over and over again throughout his letter this life

It's transitory this life and the struggles of it are momentary it is Eternity that is in mind here.

It is a life pleasing to the Lord that will be judged by him at the end Rightly one that will be pleasing to him

Our hope is not in the things of this world But in the inheritance that Christ is secured for us that God the

Father has secured for us and keeps for us And Peter gives us the reason that believers must arm themselves that they must be prepared for the spiritual battle

Look again at verse 1 because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin

Now first there there are several tricky portions of this passage and so I just want to be clear on this

This phrase here at the end does not refer to Christ Why he did suffer but he did not cease from sin he never did sin he couldn't sin

But also I want us to see that Obedience is not easy It is not easy

So I was saying in some circumstances Obedience can even cost you your life

The one who has suffered in the flesh is someone who has been persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

There can be a cost Attached to righteousness We know that even if we read the book of Hebrews You don't have to turn there.

I'm going to read Hebrews 11 35 to 38 talking about Old Testament saints What happened to them?

Tortured not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection and others experienced mockings and scourgings

Yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two

They were tempted they were put to death with the sword They went about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted ill -treated

Men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground a glorious life to be sure

God never ever promises a life of ease We have only to look at the

Old Testament only to look at the book of Hebrews to understand that and It is the same sort of suffering that Peter is preparing his readers for but reading

Hitler's cross just kind of finishing it up. I mean the last couple of chapters maybe aren't as good as the earlier ones

But the church in Germany was under siege from the government

Hitler wanted the church to approve of his final solution He wanted them to approve of what he was doing with the

Jews and he wanted the church to preach his gospel of eight put away the

Bible do what I say and many caved in Many succumbed

Many didn't want to die on that hill so to speak some did not some stood boldly against what was going on and They suffered and died as a result

Now think of the sifting of this church Who would stand for the

Word of God even at the risk of his own life many didn't? We're listening to a testimony on a master's seminary or a master's college

DVD It was interesting Janet and I were talking about the way to church this professor at the master's college is from China and His family

Was taken outside of the house and the father was beaten They were trying to find a Bible a Bible that they'd already given away because they knew the police were going to come for it

For the sake of the Bible he was beaten Over and over and over again think about Russian Baptist churches during this time of the

Soviet Union Pastor of the church that had to be a home church because it wasn't officially authorized to be a church

Would get taken away to prison for preaching the gospel who's going to be the next one Think about converts now in Muslim countries you convert from Islam to Christianity.

What happens a life of ease a life of wealth health prosperity a life of suffering a

Life of not knowing if you will live another minute Suffering in this country is not yet our lot still we are to be ready.

We are to be armed. We are to be prepared What are we to make of? This curious phrase that Peter applies here

That To those who have been who have suffered persecution and persevered he says that such a person has quote ceased from sin and Quote well, what does that mean that a person who has suffered has ceased from sin?

It means that he or she has proven the work of God in their lives They've given evidence to it the commentator

Hebrew writes this He who in loyalty to Christ and in his power, and I think that's important to notice in his power has steadfastly

Endured persecution rather than join in the wicked practices of the pagan world Has demonstrated that the pursuit of sin in his life has ended and it's not just a question of Joining with the wicked practices of the pagan world, but it's a matter of not being willing to deny

Christ Not being willing to get away from the truth What are the greatest?

demonstrations of the grace and power of God that You or I have ever seen

I would argue that they are what Peter is presenting those who facing Imprisonment torture and or death refuse to do anything less than proclaim the truth

There's a book Fox's book of martyrs. It's filled with stories of men and women who gave their lives rather than compromise and Peter is calling us.

He's not saying you know what every one of you are called to be a martyr He's saying you need to be prepared no matter what the cost is to stand up for the truth

So first you must arm yourselves with the purpose of Christ putting God's will

God's commands the desires of God and his word above your own desires

What would be easier for me is not the question What would please the

God who paid the price for my sin is the question? Secondly you are to arm yourselves with the will of God Verse 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men

But for the will of God So as the first two words there has the meaning of as a result

So having this attitude of obeying the Lord no matter what Will have an impact on your lives

Means as a result this will be the impact that's going to have is that you're no no longer going to live

For the lusts of men, but for the will of God and that verb live This is the only time it's used in the

New Testament It's an unusual word for live the Greek word is and it means that even if you

Or whether you're put to death or not that having the same Purpose as Christ the same mindset as Christ will impact the rest of your natural life

It will have an ongoing result and the impact is this you will not live for the common pleasures

With which unsaved men and women are consumed I think that I know the first job.

I had the first real job. I had was in a warehouse and I was I was making the big bucks in that warehouse

But it just seemed to be like so many of the lives of the people there were so pointless because it was all you know

Monday was the worst day of the week and Friday was the best day of the week That was it you lived for Friday night and Saturday night and you stumbled in on Sunday and that's how they lived

It was all about Surviving the workweek to get to the weekend and carry on and we are not to live like that We don't live for common pleasures

That's how they live their entire lives from beginning to end. What a pointless meaningless life and in fact

The Greek has a sharp contrast in it in verse 2 if we see if you could see there

It says at towards the end but for the will of God that is a strong clean break between a life controlled by base desire by the desires of the things of this world and At life controlled as it were by a desire to please

God Again, I am thankful that Peter was not an innovator. He didn't come up with a bunch of new thoughts

Did not the Lord himself instruct his disciples that believers cannot serve two masters. We either love the world or we love

Christ Same idea here There's no gray It's either black or white right or wrong saved or unsaved sanctified or unsanctified

You love Christ or you love the world. You can't be mostly saved You can't be mostly controlled by the

Spirit. You're either controlled by the Spirit you're either doing as God would have you or you're not and Peter says here the result of being armed with the purpose of Christ will be what that you will not

Live for the things that the world so prizes That the rest of your mortal life will not be spent on the lusts of men

But on the will of God, let's move on to point number three.

You must arm yourselves against sin and sinners First notice that your time of sinning is over verse 3

For the time already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles Having pursued a course of sensuality lusts drunkenness carousing drinking parties and abominable idolatries

There's a laundry list the most stunning and Delightful things

I think I've ever heard in my life are the testimonies of saints who were saved at a young age

People often preface those by saying well, you know what my testimony is pretty boring

You know, I got saved when I was four and I didn't really get involved in a lot and you know, here

I am 35 and you know, my life's just been dull. I'd like to have had that kind of dull life.

That's boring but Peters Peters readers

That those that he wrote this letter to like most of us did not have that sort of life

They didn't get saved at four They weren't born and raised in the church They had a life that they had lives that were marked by sin and Peter wasn't bringing it up to put them down But rather to motivate them

Now, how could that how could that motivate somebody if he says listen? Here's a laundry list of all the sins and we're gonna get to this.

Here's a laundry list of all the sins that you guys used to Be involved in how would that motivate him?

Just keep your finger there in first Peter three or four and look at Luke seven Luke seven verses 37 to 43

And we're going to see what will motivate someone who loves Christ Luke chapter 7 verse 37 and there was a woman in the city who was a sinner and When she learned that he was reclining

Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisees house She brought an alabaster vial of perfume and standing behind him at his feet weeping

She began to wet his feet with her tears and kept wiping them With the hair of her head and kissing his feet and anointing them with perfume

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself if this man were a prophet

He would know who and what sort of person this woman who is touching him That she is a sinner and Jesus answered him

Simon I have something to say to you and he replied say a teacher a money lender had two debtors

One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty when they were unable to repay he graciously forgave them both

So which of them will love him more? Verse 43 Simon answered and Said I suppose the one whom he forgave more and he said to him you have judged correctly

What motivated the woman to break this vial of expensive perfume and to clean the feet of Jesus with the perfume her tears

Her hair even kissing his feet Was the magnitude of her sins that he had forgiven?

When a sinner thinks back on the life that they've been saved from When they think about all that they have been forgiven of the supernaturally powered response is

It's not that a big of a deal now they have a joy and a desire to obey

Christ Because he has set them free from these sins that were destroying their lives

Peter was there obviously he saw this and in a very Well, and he's just kind of saying the same thing that Jesus did in a different way.

Look consider all these sins There is one other response

To our sin when we understand that we've been saved from all these things. Not only are we joyful we want to obey

Christ, but Those things that used to hold us bondage in bondage no longer attract us they don't get our attention like they used to and This list of sins that I read and I'm going to go through them here in a second

It's still what consumes unbelievers. This is still what they focus their time on. This is still the

Friday night Saturday night Sometimes Sunday night drag yourself into work on Monday lifestyle.

This is what they do. Listen to these sensuality, which is an inordinate indulgence of appetites to the extent of violating a sense of public decency

I mean, this is just extraordinary. It's over -the -top Loss a desire for something forbidden or something in ordinance a craving

Drunkenness the picture is basically being filled with wine to the point of it bubbling up or overflowing

They are filled to the gills with wine not just drunk, but just Drunk drunk.

I Test Iverson was like point five one or something like that, which is just incredible That's more than six times and and that guy was

Filled to the brim. I mean that's it's as high and it takes a lot of training to get to that level I'll tell you we had to work at it and That's the the picture is a people just so overdoing it

Fourthly carousing Originally, you know, these were just kind of festive processions in honor of a wine

God merrymaking But in the New Testament, it always has a bad sense and it gets worse drinking parties

Sessions people and engaged in just for the sake of becoming inebriated And I think when

I see these kind of specials about college campuses today, that's that's what they do It's all just for the sake of being drunk for being in another state of consciousness finally number six a

Vulnerable idolatry's this is kind of a summary and a catch -all in case Peter missed anything

He just wants us to understand that all these sensual sins all this drinking all these kind of things are always involved in worshiping idols

Would always include drunkenness and sexual perversion Wasn't just enough to have some kind of nasty thing that you brought back from India but you you had to it involved alcohol or sex or something and The verbs

Peter uses in verse 3 are perfect tense Notice it says they have carried out and having pursued.

These are things that They went on for a time and usually we say, you know a perfect has it starts at one point as continuing results

Well here it stops at one point and it never starts again They are done with all those things

So your time with sin is over and your time with sinners is over all those things are in the past You're done with them.

Look at verse 4 in all this They are surprised these sinners

That you used to associate with are surprised that you do not run with them into the same Excesses of dissipation and they malign you they don't understand

It's Friday night, why are you going to a Bible study that verb surprised?

Means to cause a strong Psychological reaction through introduction of something new or strange to astonish the unbelievers are stunned

Shocked they don't know how to react because you used to hang out with them You used to do all these things and now you're like, you know what those things don't interest me anymore

And it is something that they can't even get their heads around they've never considered They cannot understand why anyone would want to give that up They can't imagine why you don't run with them as it says or plunge with them

In fact one writer says that the picture here of plunging is to jump impetuously into an open sewer

That's how they just love it. They're pigs heading for the slop They can't wait to get there and they don't know why you don't want to go with them.

They see this as pursuing happiness In what is the highest good of all mankind?

Pursuit of personal happiness. That's the highest good until you get saved the

God of the universe opens your eyes Unbelievers are happy for you, right because you've straightened out your life

God that works for you No No, they're not. In fact the response here

Is this always the case? No But it was the response to in Peter's day because this was such a break from what people were supposed to do

Still a break imagine doing this in college college kids are pummeled by this I'm sure their response of the unbelievers was to malign them or literally the

Greek word would be to blaspheme you to speak ill of I mean, what are some of the questions they're gonna throw out?

Are you too good to hang out with us? You know, I remember back when you used to be fun.

I've actually heard this one What have you done with Steve and when is he coming back? They are completely let down.

They don't know they don't know what to do except to talk trash about you to talk ill of you

So first you must arm yourselves with the purpose of Christ the mindset of Christ Second you must arm yourselves with the will of God Third you must arm yourselves against sin and sinners.

They are going to attack you and Fourth you must arm yourselves because the judge is coming

The judge is coming I'm gonna look at verses 5 and 6 and notice first that the judge will hold those who reject him accountable verse 5

But they will give an account Those who persecute you those who blaspheme you those who malign you will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead those who mock and persecute believers will be held to answer by Christ himself and in effect, they will be called in as defendants into a courtroom.

This is a courtroom phrase here They're gonna have to give an account Just as believers are called to give an account give a defense in first Peter 3 15 remember

Peter says that you must always be ready to do what? Give a defense for the hope that is in you and it's the same idea

They're gonna be called into a courtroom and they're gonna be asked to or they're gonna be told to Give a reason for why they have done give a defense an apology apologia a defense for the hope that is

Or not for the hope but for the for the reasons for the actions that they took against you You might sit here and say other than the capitalized words.

Well, how do we know that? It's Jesus who is going to be the judge? Well John chapter 5

Jesus lets us know and I'll read that John chapter 5 verses 22 to 27

For not even the Father judges anyone But he has given all judgment to the

Son so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father he who does not honor the

Son does not honor the Father who sent him and By the way, if they do not honor the Son are they gonna honor those who follow the

Son? Of course not Jesus told us that too Truly truly I say to you he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into Judgment, but has passed out of death into life verse 25 truly truly

I say to you an hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live for just as the

Father has life in himself even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself and He gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the

Son of Man in Acts 17 31 same concept God has fixed a day in Which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed

Having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead This is Jesus resurrected from the dead and Peter is simply encouraging the believers that even if those who persecuted them in the past are dead or Even if they should die before the

Lord returns those who are persecuting them that they will not escape the judgment of God in other words vengeance

Vengeance belongs to the Lord vengeance. What does he say? He says vengeance is mine. I will repay he will repay those

Who persecute and slander and blaspheme? believers whether they are living when

Jesus returns or not and That is the concept there in verse 5 that he is ready to judge the living and the dead in other words

He is going to judge those who are persecutors who are alive when he returns

And those who are persecutors who have already died. They are going to suffer the wrath of God Almighty Secondly notice that the judge will pardon those who receive him look at verse 6

For the gospel has for this purpose Been preached even to those who are dead that though they are judged in the flesh as men

They may live in the Spirit according to the will of God I started my own translation of this verse and basically the beginning would be for this reason even the dead were

Gospelized that's the idea here that that they were preached to now this is

Some have called it the most difficult verse in all the Bible. I don't know if I'd go that far Could find a million different ideas about what this means

Maybe not a million, but 20 Let's let's talk about some things that it cannot mean and then

I'm going to tell you what I what I believe It does mean it cannot mean that dead people who are now dead

Have someone go to them and preach the gospel to them that they might receive salvation cannot mean that and If we could look and we're going to look at this verse and get that ruled right out

But it cannot mean that because we have plenty of places that say There is no second chance

Hebrews 927 is appointed a man wants to die and then to judgment But the first four in verse six that first word there shows a close connection that is closely connected with verse five

It's a connecting word. In fact, I think it's safe to say that Peter is setting up a contrast Between the fate of the persecutors and those who have been persecuted

Again, Peter strikes a note of hope. What's the purpose of his whole letter to give hope to those who are

In distress to those who are being persecuted Peter would even might even phrase it this way.

Are you concerned about those who have been faithful but are now dead? You needn't fear the gospel was preached to them and So that they would believe and that they might have spiritual life

Even if their physical life were ended by unrighteous judgments. That's the concept here when he says

That though the whole purpose here That word that is a henna clause.

It's a henna Greek. It shows purpose in the in the Greek so the purpose

For this very purpose has been preached to them who are even to those who are dead

That though they are judged in the flesh as men while they were alive while they were in the flesh.

They were judged and One of the possibilities is that they were judged even to death possibly

But they were definitely persecuted and unjustly judged They may live in the spirit according to the will of God again

Think about the whole theme of the book of first Peter that our hope and our confidence

Are not in the circumstances of life are not in the here and now First Peter was written to encourage believers in the face of persecution in the face of difficulty

So his message here the end of this particular passage is Listen, even those who are dead who were persecuted

You can rejoice that they're dead because they are going to live That is the will of God.

They are going to live in the spirit They are going to have a spirit life and eternal life with God the

Father in the presence of Christ Jesus now first Peter Was written again to encourage believers in the face of Difficulty in the face of persecution persecution was coming

Nero just ramped it up over and over again We we know the stories about Christians being fed to the

Lions being used as being used as human torches and Peter here in this passage issues a call to arms

But he doesn't say go get the rifles boys. Let's man the fortress It is not literal arms not to defend ourselves physically from persecution but spiritual arms

That we might be prepared that we might glorify Christ in suffering Even as he did that we might have the mind of Christ that we might have the purpose of Christ and this is not easy

It is not natural. Our natural inclination is what it's to avoid suffering

Nobody wants to suffer. We don't want to be persecuted There's a song

Every time I I think about Fox's book of martyrs or some of the great persecutions that have gone on in history

I think about this song and the man writes I've heard how Christians long ago were brought before a tyrant's throne and They were told that he would spare their lives if they would renounce the name of Christ But one by one they chose to die the

Son of God they would did what they would not deny. I think even of the stories of the

Armenian genocide throughout the Middle East how Islam Grew by virtue of the sword not by proselytizing.

They didn't send missionaries out there to spread Islam They sent people with the sword and said, you know convert or die and many did but you think how great a

God we serve when we know that we have been forgiven our sins and even in the face of Imminent death.

He gives us the grace to say I will not recant. I cannot recant I know what

Christ has done on my behalf and I can do nothing else but proclaim him Now you do not know

I do not know none of us can know what God has in store for us What we do know is that the world hates

Christ and therefore hates us In fact, even that story about dr. Wong. I was just thinking about how

Janet was Was saying about how they were so afraid of the Bible that they wanted they were willing to beat people for three days to find the

Bible They hate Christ. They hate his word and they will do anything to suppress it.

And if you think persecution isn't coming guess again This letter is just as pertinent today as it was 2 ,000 years ago because persecution if it's not here yet, and it's not it's coming

It is coming You must arm yourselves with the purpose of Christ. You must arm yourselves with the will of God You must be firmly aware of what

God has Said what he has done You must also arm yourselves against sin and sinners

Remember what God has done on your behalf and don't hang out with the people who would encourage you to stumble

Arm yourselves because the judge is coming Christ will return and when he does he's going to separate the sheep and the goats

Beloved Let us act constantly like we are sheep willing to go to the slaughter if that is what our

God calls us to Let's pray Lord.

We are blessed blessed beyond measure to live in a land of Religious liberty as we look even around the world today so many countries

Where that is not the case? so many times in history Even this country founded by those who are fleeing religious persecution

Father it is but just a matter of time. Should you not return? Before that father.

I would just pray for each of us that we would be Armed that we would be prepared

Not to fight but to submit to your will Or not to struggle against the powers

And Authorities of this world But to submit to you to do your will in all things

To have the mind of Christ to be willing

To suffer even to the point of death if that is your will for us Lord, would you just cause each of us to trust you more and more each and every day?

We know that you are going to judge each man occurring to his works and Father we confess we have no works

We are relying entirely upon your son Jesus Christ His finished work on the cross on our behalf

Lord, would you make us a people that just have a singular mindset? To obey you to walk as you would have us walk.