Preparing To Live In A Post-Christian America

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, November 9, 2014 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Prophecy Preparing To Live In A Post-Christian America I Peter 3:13-17 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to I Peter chapter three. And let's read verses I PETER 3:13-17 (NKJV) 13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. P R A Y E R

2 Introduction ILLUSTRATION The late Dr. Francis Schaeffer was one of the greatest Christian theologians of our time. I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Schaeffer in person when he came to speak in chapel at Johnson Bible College during my junior year. In the early 70's, Dr. Schaeffer made a statement that turned out to be eerily prophetic. He said, Someday we will wake up and find out the America we once knew is gone. That day is now here! It was unthinkable just a generation ago that one day we could possibly be living in a post-christian America. But now all the evidence shows that it has become a reality. * 33 Million Americans claim to have no religious affiliation at all. That is one out of every five Americans. * The four fastest growing religions in America are: ISLAM (which has doubled in size in America since the attacks of September 11, 2001) ; The Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) ; Buddhism; and get this...witchcraft ( formally known as Wicca). (This would account for the increase we have seen of TV shows based on an occult or witchcraft theme.) * 7,000 Churches close their doors for good every year. * 1,700 preachers are leaving the preaching ministry per month. That's 18,000 a year. The truth, this country that has been Christian friendly for most of her history, is becoming increasingly more hostile towards Christians and Christian values.

3 And so this morning, I would like to pose a very sobering, soulsearching question to each and everyone here, and that is: Are You Prepared To Live In A Post-Christian America? Is your faith in the LORD JESUS CHRIST strong enough to stand in an environment of hostility and animosity towards those of the Christian faith? ******************** In our scripture text, the apostle Peter addresses the issue of suffering for the cause of Christ. His message was appropriate for those who were suffering persecution in his day; and it is equally appropriate for you and me today. In our text, Peter reveals four things we can do to prepare ourselves for the difficult days ahead. First of all... I. We Must Be Prepared To SUFFER FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST (vs. 13,14a, 17) 1. Peter begins by posing a question: And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? Peter is asking a rhetorical question here. Common sense and logic tells us that if we treat people right and show love and kindness towards others, and we mind our own business and pay our taxes and obey the laws of the land that nobody is going to harm us for doing good. And for the most part that has always been the case for Christian Americans. We have been able to practice our faith with little or no resistance or suffering.

4 2. But notice what Peter says in the first part of verse 2: BUT EVEN if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. What Peter is saying is that while suffering for doing good isn't highly probable, it is ALWAYS POSSIBLE! 3. The Bible, as well as the history books remind us that since the early days of the Church and in every generation since, Christians have been the targets of discrimination, hostility, persecution, torture, and even martyrdom. 4. And when we take into account how the tide has turned against Christians in this country, we have NO PROMISE OR GUARANTEE that the suffering that multitudes of Christians went through in generations past, and the suffering that multitudes of Christians all over the world are now experiencing, won't happen to us. 5. None of us wants to suffer, and we pray that it never happens, but we must ensure that our faith in Christ is real and genuine and strong, so that if suffering does come, we will be prepared to stand firm. 6. Like Peter says in verse 14, suffering for our faith in Christ is NOT a bad thing, it is a blessing. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:10 (NKJV) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. While suffering for being a Christian is not pleasant, it is a blessing in the sense that Christ is honored and glorified when we suffer for His sake.

5 7. Brothers and sisters, we must understand it is NOT going to get easier to live the Christian life here in America, it is going to become increasingly more difficult. And that is why we must prepare to suffer for the cause of Christ. II. We Must STAY CALM (v.14b) v.14b And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 1. God doesn't want you and me to live our lives in FEAR; He wants us to live our lives by FAITH. 2. In II Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) the apostle Paul tells us, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 3. The best way to overcome our fears of what these difficult days ahead may bring is to be in A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. You see, our Churches today are filled with nominal, lukewarm, half-hearted Christians who are Christians in name-only. There are many who talk the talk but they aren't walking the walk. And throughout the entire history of the Church, suffering and persecution has weeded out the lukewarm make-believers and pretenders from the true believers.

6 4. In Ephesians 4:1-3, the apostle Paul admonishes us to Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 5. You see, when we truly KNOW CHRIST and LOVE CHRIST and LIVE FOR CHRIST it helps dispel any fear of suffering that may come our way for being one of His followers! 6. As Paul says in ROMANS 8:31 (NKJV) What then shall we say to these things? If GOD is for us, who can be against us? ILLUSTRATION One of the early martyrs of the Church was a man by the name of POLYCARP, who was an elder in the Church at Smyrna that we read about in Revelation 2. Church history tells us that when the Roman Emperor Antonius Pius sent Roman troops to Smyrna to execute Polycarp, that Polycarp met them at the soldiers at the door and greeted them with the words: God's will be done. He then offered his executioners food to eat. By the edict of the Emperor, Proconsul offered Polycarp the opportunity to save his own life if he would recant his faith in Christ and pledge allegiance to the Emperor. Polycarp responded, Eighty six years I have served Christ and he has never done me wrong. How can I now blaspheme my King and my Savior. The Proconsul then threatened to expose Polycarp to the wild beast, to which Polycarp responded: It is well for me to be speedily released from this life of misery.

7 The Proconsul offered Polycarp one final opportunity to renounce his faith in Christ, threatening to burn him at the stake if he didn't. Polycarp responded: I fear not the fire that burns for a moment; but you do not know the fire which burns forever and ever. And with that, the soldiers removed Polycarp from his home and burned him at the stake. And it said that when the fires failed to burn Polycarp alive, the soldiers stabbed him to death. 7. Even in the face of certain death, POLYCARP exhibited the same CALM and COURAGE that was demonstrated by Christ when He faced those who would crucify Him; and the same CALM and COURAGE Stephen exhibited when he faced those who would stone him to death. 8. It is highly unlikely that any of us will ever be burned at the stake, or crucified, or stoned to death, for our faith in Jesus Christ. But as our nation becomes increasingly more hostile towards Christians and Christian values, the possibility that you and I may face sharp criticism or mockery or ridicule will likely increase. How should we react should that happen? STAY CALM! Do not be afraid of their threats or be troubled.

8 III. We Must SANCTIFY THE LORD IN OUR HEARTS (v.15a) v.15a But sanctify the LORD GOD in your hearts. 1. What does Peter mean by that? The word sanctify means to set oneself apart for GOD, or to Wholly dedicate oneself to GOD. 2. When I sanctify the LORD GOD in my heart, it means I live my life to PLEASE Him! I live my life to SERVE Him! I live my life to HONOR and GLORIFY Him. It means I fear displeasing GOD more than I fear what any man may say to me or do to me because I follow Christ. 3. Christian, have you sanctified the LORD GOD in your heart? Are you a seven day a week Christian or a one hour on Sunday Christian? Do you WALK WITH CHRIST DAILY or do you just take a casual spiritual stroll with Him on Sunday morning? Are you a TRUE BELIEVER or a MAKE-BELIEVER? 4. Brothers and sisters, we cannot have divided loyalty. You are either FOR JESUS or you are AGAINST JESUS, there is no middle ground. We Must Be PREPARED TO SUFFER FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST. We Must STAY CALM and not be afraid of those who may threaten us. We Must SANCTIFY THE LORD GOD in our hearts and give Him our undivided and undying allegiance.

9 And finally... IV. We Must Always Be Prepared To SPEAK UP FOR CHRIST (v.15b) v. 15 But sanctify the LORD GOD in your hearts, AND ALWAYS BE READY TO GIVE A DEFENSE TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS YOU A REASON FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU, WITH MEEKNESS AND FEAR In the early history of the Church if a Christian were to stand up in public and declare Jesus is God, hardly anyone would pay him any mind, because in the eyes of Romans and Greeks, there were many gods and it didn't matter which one you believed in. But if a Christian were to stand up in public and declare Jesus is LORD! he did so at the risk of losing his life, because in the ancient Roman world there was only one LORD and that was Caesar. 2. Brothers and sisters, you and I should neither be AFRAID or ASHAMED to SPEAK UP and declare Jesus is LORD of our life. We should never feel embarrassed or feel the need to apologize for being a Christian. 3. But notice the spirit in which we are to do that, Peter says we are to do it in a spirit of meekness and fear. 4. Let's be honest here! Some Christians give all Christians a bad name. Some Christians do more harm than good for the cause of Christ by ramming religion down the throats of people in the name of Jesus! While those who do this feel good about their own righteousness, they drive people away from Christ!

10 5. Peter is telling us when we SPEAK UP for Christ, do so in a loving, gentle, non-judgmental way. When we witness, we should do it as one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. C O N C L U S I O N Let me share this with you and then I will close. On the wall in his bedroom the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon had a plaque with ISAIAH 48:10 enscribed on it: It read... Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Brothers and sisters,times are changing and they are changing fast! This is no longer the AMERICA that our parents and grandparents once knew. I truly believe the LORD is now Testing us in the furnace of affliction. We must prepare to SUFFER FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST! We must STAY CALM and not be afraid of those who threaten us! We must SANCTIFY or set apart the LORD GOD in our hearts! And We must always be ready to SPEAK UP FOR CHRIST! Look up, for your redemption is drawing near!