Seaching for Christ's Church

 Searching for Christ's Church

Matt.5: 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Jn.15: 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
Matt.24: 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The persecution of Christians around the world grows with each passing day.

Here is an incomplete list of recent persecutions.
Now how can we as believers in America claim we are being persecuted when our brothers and sisters are being attacked and scorned and families are being ripped apart? How can we suggest that these political skirmishes represent anything of the spiritual war which rages in many parts of the world? And the war which comes against the followers of Christ has nothing to do with money or economics or even capitalism. Those things are what concern Americans, and the western church has taken up their cause and left the cause of Christ.
But let us see the light of glory which must fill the corridors of heaven as followers of Jesus leave their bodies at the end of a sword or a gun and enter His presence. They have suffered for His name’s sake and now they are ushered into His very presence. Dwell on that miraculous mystery! And when they see Him in all is risen glory and majesty, do you think they long for anything they have left on this earth? The only thing that the rich man in hell was concerned about was his lost brothers (Lk.16). These martyrs will only be concerned for the lost because as they gaze upon the Royal Lion they will be assured of His watch care over their loved ones and the brethren they have left behind.
Oh dear brothers and sisters, watch as God’s angels draw close as a believer cries out his last breath at the hands of his tormentors. And remember the first martyr. Stephen draws close to death by stoning just because he preached Jesus. What would he say in his last moments? Would he condemn his murderers? Would he exhort his friends to publish these evil deeds in order to incite the church? Would he claim that these who stoned him were his enemies and threatened the culture? NO, NO!!! Stephen musters all the strength he has left and SHOUTS , “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge!”.
Oh my. Oh my. Can you even fathom such forgiveness? Such mercy? Let a politician present some legislation that seems to be antichristian and we yell like stuck pigs, but Stephen dies with redemptive glory on his lips. Either Stephen’s brand of Christianity is authentic or our is. They cannot both reflect Christ. The western church has taken up the banner of self defense and set out to wage war on sinners instead of waging war on our own flesh. Do we even believe in eternal life anymore or have we replaced faith with documents?
I have been criticized. I have been spoken about badly. But in truth I have never been spit upon. I have never known the brute force of a whip encrusted with jagged edges. I have never been blindfolded and punched again and again. I have never had my head impaled with many thorns. I have never been asked to carry my own implement of execution while I bled my very life away. I have never heard what I thought were my friends shout jeers and mockings toward me. I have never had nails hammered into my flesh in order to hang me to two wooden planks. I have never been put to a violent and excruciating death.
But I have been asked to consider He who did have all those things and more done to Him. And I have been asked to emulate the spirit of that narrative. I have been asked not to defend my life but lay it down just as He laid down His. I have been asked to forgive my accusers and my persecutors, even those who might take my life. I have been asked to reveal again and again and again the essence of that crucifixion. That is what every believing follower of Christ has been asked to do. All of us.
So how can we justify this self serving culture war. How can we carve off a part of our allegiance to Him and give it earthly governments? How can we lash out at sinners when we have been asked to lay down our lives for them in His name? How can we claim we are laying down our lives when we so viciously defend and protect them? The answer is simple but painful, we cannot. That is not Christianity, and that is not being a follower of Jesus. Far from it.
I am 60 years old and my health is not very good. I have spent almost a half year in the hospital in the last five years. I have had three heart attacks and I am a diabetic. Do you know why I tell you these things? Because I want you to know I have nothing to lose in speaking the truth. Anyone who was a pastor knows some of the pressure we feel from church members, even when we pray for complete freedom. But today I can speak with clarity what I hear the Spirit saying and no one can vote me out or take away the salary from my family. And even if they come with torches and swords, all they do is quicken my entrance into His presence. I have no agenda, no organization, and I do not solicit funds.
All I ask is that I can exhort some who visit this obscure blog and that the Spirit will use my words to open some eyes. And when your eyes are opened to the ecclesiastical tragedy in the west, you must draw closer to Him. Just spouting out correction is not enough. We must run under the spout of His loving correction personally as well. We must reject the hollow construct that passes for the faith once delivered to the saints.
Instead of being exhorted by false teachers we must read and absorb the living testaments of men like Stephen and Paul, men like John Huss and William Tyndale, and women like like Blandina, and believers like Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. Go ahead and read my links and see if they move your hearts. These are what we must feast upon, not these political puppets that masquerade as preachers. Our faith was purchased by blood and not be legislation, and it will be spread by His Word and blood - the blood of the Lamb and ours if necessary.
Shake yourself out of this Disney-esque Christian construct and beseech God’s Spirit to fill you with the knowledge of Him. Turn off the lullabies that are being sung by hollow mouths who lightly claim the name of Jesus. Turn your eyes upon Jesus and take your eyes off of this present world. And remind yourself that the reason we are not inviting persecution from the kingdom of darkness here is because we live like them and we think like them and we speak like them and we act like them. From us they have little to fear.
But if even a small remnant hear His voice and dare to fall to their knees in humble prayer and surrender, then He will use us in ways we may not even know. But this I do know. He desires us to seek Him with our whole heart. Even if you were stranded on an island all alone and could have no impact on anyone, Christ would still desire you to seek Him with your whole being. Do not minimize your relationship with Him, and do not render it as one of many items in your life. It must be your life. Cultivate it as if you will die unless it brings for fruit from which you and others can live.

Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world. Let them receive the power of the Holy Spirit even in death. Amen and amen.