PP John Piper said this during one of his sermons: Life is hard, but God is good and glory is coming.

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1 PP Preparing for Persecution PP John Piper said this during one of his sermons: Life is hard, but God is good and glory is coming. Christians in modern-day Chad, Africa, were being persecuted for refusing to participate in old tribal initiation rites they say are pagan. Reliable sources reported the tortured deaths of pastors, evangelists, and other church leaders who declined to commit acts contrary to their faith: drinking chicken blood offered to idols, handling fetishes, and the like. They told of people being buried alive with just part of a leg left above ground or for slower death with only the head exposed, a terrifying warning to others who resist. The persecution originated when the President of Chad launched a cultural revolution apparently to rid the nation and its four million inhabitants of unwanted foreign influences and to establish an identity with the country's past. But church leaders reportedly met and agreed to oppose the rites, and some church groups say they would not re-admit members who take part. The evangelical churches in Chad number more than 1,500 congregations with tens of thousands of members. These horrific acts are repeated throughout the world. This morning we will be looking at John 15: Grab your Bibles and open them. John 15:18-19 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Also look at: PP 1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. Let s begin by looking at what exactly is the world. PP 1: The World PP We live in a beautiful world. Look around and you can see God s handiwork everywhere and we marvel at His marvelous creation. PP One of my favorite things is to is go out alone on my bike with my MP3 player filled with worship music and ride places I ve never been before. PP Think about the most beautiful place you ve ever seen and we can really appreciate and worship God for His awesome work He created just for us. PP But, that s not what we re talking about here by the words the world. The world we re talking about here is one that s ruled by Satan and carried out by those who follow his commands, either by knowingly or unknowingly obeying the will of the prince and power of the air. The Bible teaches us that if you are not a member of Christ s body, you are controlled by the Devil and what he wishes. Therefore, the world is everything that is contrary to God and His word. Lucifer, the name he was given in heaven, means Morning Star, was the leader of worship over all the angels in Heaven, in order to bring worship to God. But he began to think of himself more highly and that he should be greater than God, the One who created him. Because of that pride and arrogance, he was cast out of Heaven to this Earth, until such time that he will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn for all eternity. All those who follow his way will join him there. PP The world, then, is the philosophy, life style and moral values that we see around us. Now please keep in mind that these values are different from country to country. We ve had the benefit to live in a country that was founded on Judeo-Christian Values. For over 200 years we have enjoyed great freedoms and peace. Most wars were not fought on our soil. America has been a powerful country that would not succumb to the pressures of opposing countries that were contrary to our Biblical views.

2 PP But what happened to our moral values that we held so dear? Someone wrote: The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed. PP Vladimir Stalin said: Give me 4 years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted. In Cornerstone we have some amazing teachers who are sheep among wolves in our public schools and colleges. I admire them and pray for them as they face what I see as an indoctrination of the minds of our young people. We all have to admit that things are changing in our schools at a pace that is both staggering and disconcerting, in which brings fear to parents. Believers must be so grounded in the Word of God that we will be able to see false teaching and philosophy that is contrary to the Bible right away, recognize it and resist the pull of the enemy of God, and the temptation to take on these false beliefs. That s why we have SS for our kids. And we truly are thankful and blessed to have all these Lafayette students who walk over each Sunday for our services. Our goal and desire, as a church, is to teach and prepare every one of you for what is coming down the pipe in our country, which in believe is in the near future. We have no desire to isolate you from the world, but to insulate you with the Word of God. I went to the dentist the other day with a molar that had worked itself loose and had to be re-attached. Part of the work that needed to be done was an x-ray on that tooth. Just before they took the x-ray, they laid this heavy lead blanket on me that stretched from my neck down to my knees. That is to insulate me from those harmful Gama-rays or whatever they re called, that could cause damage to the organs in my body. The Word of God can do that for us in the spiritual sense. And as we grow in our faith, we will be able to recognize and resist the fiery darts of the Evil One. But, as a result, when we stand up for the truth of the Word, we will be hated by the world. We will be called bigots, homophobes, intolerant, narrow-minded and a whole litany of other adjectives. The world hates the truth and will fight against it Eusebius: "Nothing to Lose" When Emperor Valens sent messengers to lure Eusebius into heresy by fair words and glowing promises, the saint answered them: "Alas, sirs, these speeches are fit to catch children; but we, who are taught and nourished by the Sacred Scriptures, are ready to suffer a thousand deaths, rather than permit one tittle of the Scriptures to be altered." Then the emperor threatened to take, by force, all his goods, to torture him, banish him, and even kill him. The courageous Christian Answered: "He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose; nor banishment, to whom heaven is his country; nor torments, when his body can be destroyed with one blow; nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow." That brings us to out 2 nd point; PP 2: The Lure of the World V: 19 says: If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. Here is where the rubber meets the road. I am about to say some things that will probably ruffle some feathers. One huge glaring problem we have in America, even as Christians, is that we feel we have a right to be happy, wealthy and live at peace. We work to that end, to provide enough for our family to have nice things, go on great vacations, put our kids through college and have a large retirement package. And the reality is that when we have that mindset we will begin to compromise some of our thinking to fit into the worlds thinking. I m not

3 saying that if you are happy, wealthy and live at peace, that you are out of the Lord s will. NO! What I am saying, is that if your goal in life is to acquire things and be happy, and that s what you re living for, then something is spiritually wrong. You have wrong priorities. God has blessed many of you, though, and you have used that blessing to bless others, being God directed to take what He has given you and help other s out. So be encouraged, if you fall into that camp. But for those who have fallen trap to the worlds ways and even to the Prosperity Gospel mentality, I m speaking to you. PP 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Why do you think that we have the same mindset as the world? Why do we think that we deserve anything good in this life? Because that s what the world wants us to believe. Why? Because, if Satan can get us to think like the world, it would draw us away from our true purpose in life. There are those of you sitting in this room who should be on the mission field or in the pastorate or some other ministry. But, the thing is, you might not even know it. Why? Because in our desire to be a good parent, we said to ourselves or listened to the counsel from well-meaning friends and family, that we need to pursue this other career that would give us a more secure income and benefits for our future and for our children. The Bible does say that if we don t provide for our family we are worse than an infidel. And we need to heed that. But it s not saying that we need to give them a comfy life, and make them happy, but to provide for their needs. There s a big difference between needs and wants. Jesus taught us in His prayer in Matt. 6:11- We need to pray for our Daily Bread, or what we need in order to get through that day. There s a song by Mercy Me that talks about that downward slippery slope that we often find ourselves going down. It s entitled Slow Fade: PP Be careful little eyes what you see It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings Be careful little feet where you go, for it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow PP It's a slow fade when you give yourself away It's a slow fade when black and white are turned to gray And thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade PP Be careful little ears what you hear When flattering leads to compromises, the end is always near Be careful little lips what you say For empty words and promises leave broken hearts astray. PP The journey from your mind to your hands is shorter than you're thinking Be careful if you think you stand, you just might be sinking

4 When our thinking and that of the world are aligned, we won t have any problem with them nor they with us. If we never speak up or against any injustice, if we shy away from sharing truth with our neighbors, friends, coworkers or classmates, there shouldn t be any issues. But once we take the Word of God seriously and begin to live out the life that it talks about and are not ashamed of the Gospel, things will really be different and filled with glory to our Father. What form will that take? PP 3: Results of Resisting the World s Lure V: 19b but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. PP Remember the quote from John Piper I read at the beginning? Life is hard, but God is good and glory is coming. PP There was a famous message by a Pastor S.M. Lockridge from Philadelphia. Watch this video. (Chloe, can you put this video in?) We have a hope and a future that the world cannot take away. The world has taught us that we should strive to live as long as we can, because to them, this world is all there is and there s nothing after life to look forward to. That s a lie of the Devil and we should remember what Paul said, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So my question to you is this: Why should we strive to live better then Christ did. When the disciples began to follow Jesus, He told them that He had no place to lay His head. The scribes and Pharisees hated Him. People wanted to stone Him because He taught truth. We must look at the next two verses in this section to get a better understanding of this thought. Jesus said: PP John 15:20-21 Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. I m convinced that the peace and easy life we ve experienced up to this point here in America is soon to come to an end. Our society and culture is rapidly changing for the worse, and Christian values are despised. But we shouldn t be surprised by that. God s blessing has been on our country for many years and like all great nations, they implode from within. Satan doesn t need to get you to sin. He only needs to get your passionate for Christ to grow weaker and get you to compromise in little things. Are you sold out for Christ? Are there things in your life that take precedence over your walk with God? Does the business of work crowd out your time in the Word? Have you found yourself looking at things on the internet that are inappropriate? Is there someone in your life that you ve been thinking about more than your own spouse? Do you find yourself getting angry more easily these days? These are all signs of a compromised life. PP Joshua said to the Children of Israel, Joshua 24:14-18 Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve,.. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. PP Then the people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods,

5 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt,... Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God. Could preach a whole message on these 4 verses, but if you listen to the challenge Joshua is giving to the House of Israel, he s saying that they need to forsake the ways of the world and serve only God. Is there something you need to forsake? Is there a commitment you need to make today? As we prepare for the future persecution, I want to ask you to stand and pray with me.