Wow! I can't believe it has been over three weeks since my last blog! I apologize. My schedule has been slammed and time has flown by. I'm doing a verse by verse teaching through the book of Matthew on Wednesday nights at the Church where I pastor. It amazes me how often the passage of the week deals directly with issues that I, or someone in the congregation, is dealing with. God is the master composer and it is at times like this that I can see He is still in control. It's beautiful.
Last night the passage of the week was Matthew 10: 16-23. Now, you may need to stop and go read that passage, but in a nutshell, it is the words of our Lord and He tells us that as Christians, we are like sheep and He is sending us into a world of wolves. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what wolves do to sheep! Right?
If anyone ever told you that serving Jesus and living a "holy life" was going to be easy, they mislead you! As Christians, we do have a peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4:7), and we do experience an inner joy that only God can give to us (1 Pt.1:8). However, the various seasons of life we experience, also bring us seasons of spiritual warfare and persecution. Not everyone wants to hear the "Good News" of Salvation in Christ! Not everyone is open to discussing spiritual matters! Not everyone wants to attend a prayer meeting or worship service with you! In fact, some will label you a "fanatic" or even a "heretic" depending on their own personal views.
So, what do you do? Do you simply keep your faith quiet and surrender to the ideology that spiritual matters are personal matters? Do you get angry and lash back, get into a war of words and allow your emotions to control you? What do you do when you are laughed at, called intolerant, cursed or slandered by others because of your love for Jesus? Jesus has the answer.
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus says; "...Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." What does that mean? Well, have you ever seen a "goofy" snake? No! they project a sense of control, a sense of knowing their surroundings, a sober-minded state. Jesus is telling us to be aware that we are not in Heaven yet. To not allow ourselves to be caught off guard by those who persecute you and your faith. We must be sober-minded, in control, aware that persecution can, may, and eventually, will happen. Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say; "If you are not experiencing persecution and trials from the devil, it is because you and the devil are going in the same direction. Turn around, and you are sure to come face to face with the devil."Second, Jesus tells us to be as harmless as a dove. To understand this, we simply need to look at the Lord Himself.
Isaiah 53:7 speaks of Jesus being oppressed and afflicted and yet like a lamb led to the slaughter, He was silent before His shearers. How did Jesus respond? Jesus did not curse back or even use His great power to fight back, Jesus was meek and gentle like a Lamb.
The Word of God is amazing. Over and over again, God teaches us to be ruled by the Holy Spirit and not our human wants and desires. In the flesh, we want to retaliate when we are being attacked, but the Bible teaches us to "love our enemies..."(Matt. 5:44). When we are cursed, we want to curse back, but Proverbs 15:1 says; "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." When someone does evil to us, we want to do evil back and yet Proverbs 25:21-22 teaches us; "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you."
The question of the hour is not how you have responded in the past during times of spiritual warfare and persecution, but how will you respond from this moment forward? Will you respond like the rest of the world, or will you respond like Jesus? You will have days of blessings and joy, but you will also have days of persecution for your faith. How will you respond? The Choice is Yours!
