Category: Politics

The Message

You can listen to the podcast for this message here.

Last week we learned that God gave Jonah a second chance. When the word of God came to Jonah the first time, he responded in disobedience. God is not obligated to exercise grace upon us, but many times He does just that. Salvation came to Jonah in the form of a fish and God spoke to him again telling Jonah the same thing – go. God would tell him what to say when he got there. What did Jonah do with this second chance? Let’s find out.

Grab your Bible and read Jonah 3:3-9.

First things first. The word comes to Jonah and instead of fleeing, he goes to Nineveh. As we mentioned last week, it was probably a 20 day walk, less if he rode a donkey. The important thing is that given a second chance, Jonah went. There are people that God gives chance after chance, choice after choice, blessing after blessing and all is squandered in the pursuit of self satisfaction. You know them. Maybe they’re lost, maybe they’re saved – sometimes it’s hard to tell. Circumstances dictate their lives. You wonder when they’ll turn to God and get real; get authentic, live for God and quit playing around. How many people thought that about you? It’s really easy to look at everyone else and ignore yourself. Probably each of us has been given a second chance at one time or another.

“So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.” I wonder what Jonah must have felt during his trip to get there. I wonder what he was thinking about. He must have had an idea of what God was going to tell him to say. All he had to do was preach the truth. That was the problem for Jonah and that remains the problem for us, but the rationale is different. Jonah didn’t want to tell the Assyrians the truth because he knew how they would respond. Sometimes we don’t want to tell the truth because we don’t want to get involved, we might offend someone; we might be labeled fundamental or fanatical, maybe judgmental or old-fashioned. We don’t want anyone to unfriend us on Facebook or quit following us on Twitter. Sometimes we’re very short sighted. “Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three day’s walk.” This refers to their size and importance, not their godliness or morality as a city. Remember their wickedness had come before God, that’s why he commissioned Jonah to go there. “A three day’s walk” indicates the distance to get across the city. Nineveh’s circumference was 55-60 miles. The average day’s walk was 20 miles – 3 day’s walk to get around it.

Jonah delivers God’s message. On the first day of the mission in v. 4, “Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk.” Jonah got right to it – such a complete transformation from the first call of God. It’s unlikely that no one noticed his arrival. Jonah looked different than the people of Nineveh, dressed differently, talked differently, and I am certain he smelled differently. Have you ever travelled outside of the country? It’s easy to spot an American. What was God’s message that Jonah cried out? It was simple. To the point. Profound. “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” Overthrown means to overturn or forcibly remove from power. Back in 1:3, Jonah was to cry out against their wickedness – their sin. Now the message is Nineveh has 40 days. The city does not know God. Not a single man, woman, boy, or girl. Without God’s message and messenger, how would they hear? Today, without you, how will people hear? Do we really believe the message we have is the only one that matters? If we really believe this to be true, wouldn’t we do whatever was necessary to reach someone who does not know Jesus Christ?

Our parallel to Jonah’s mission is our mission to the Muslim community. The message we must cry out is that God loves you, He cares for you, He gave His only Son for you. That message is hard for us to deliver to Muslims because we think only in terms of terror. We’re afraid of what might happen.

  • We remember the TWA flight and the cruise ship Achille Lauro that were hijacked in 1985.
  • In 1986, it was a bomb that exploded on another TWA flight and the bombing of a West Berlin disco frequented by American servicemen.
  • In 1988, it was Pan-Am 747 exploding over Lockerbie, Scotland.
  • In 1993, it was a bomb in a basement garage of the World Trade Center.
  • In 1995, it was a car bomb exploding outside military headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  • In 1996, it was a truck bomb exploding outside Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.
  • In 1998, it was simultaneous truck bombs outside our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
  • In 2000, it was the small boat attack of the USS Cole in Yemen.
  • In 2001, it was the systematic attacks against the WTC, the Pentagon, and likely the White House.
  • In 2002, it was a bomb at the American Embassy in Pakistan.
  • In 2003, it was suicide bombers in a housing complex in Riyadh.
  • In 2004, it was the three attacks against Americans and westerners in Saudi Arabia.
  • In 2005, it was the suicide bombers at three American hotels in Jordan.
  • In 2006, it was an attempted attack by four gunmen against our Embassy in Syria.
  • In 2007, it was an anti-tank missile is fired at our Embassy in Greece.
  • In 2008, it was suicide and roadside bombings in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and India targeting Americans.
  • In 2009, it was three suicide bombings in Iraq, the Ft. Hood shootings, and the underwear bomber.
  • In 2010, it was a bomb discovered in Times Square, and bombs were found on two cargo planes coming from Yemen bound for the U.S.

You see it’s easy for us to remember those events and forget our responsibility – our privilege. Brother Andrew says what we do is based on what we believe. It’s true with every criminal act, every act of immorality, every terrorist act. Suicide bombers are deeply committed to their beliefs. To do nothing reveals a lot about us, too. Terrorism is a successful tool because it invokes fear. We have the truth of God, the truth that can change the world and when the truth is not at the forefront of our minds, evil in the world progresses. That’s why terrorist activities always seem to be directed against the U.S. The United States has the resources and the people to affect change in the world. As Christians, we have the resources and people to change eternity. It is names like Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Taliban, and the PLO that evoke hatred in us yet their sin doesn’t separate them from God anymore than our sin separates us from God. When it’s crisis time, crunch time, the church must not entertain. We must warn of impending destruction with the good news of God’s love. Our job is to be obedient, the results are God’s.

So let’s see God’s results. Ultimately in everything we do, the results of following God are left to Him. For people that are results oriented, it’s hard. We want to help God. He provides the plan and we want to revise it, make our own model, tell people this is the way it must be done. Then we write books and create conferences and seminars to share our ultra cool ideas with the “with it” crowd to show everyone how it’s supposed to work. In the end we’re left discouraged and disillusioned because the latest gimmick is just that. For Jonah, the message of hope was concise. “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” Does it mean that in 40 days Nineveh would be destroyed no matter what? That hardly seems to be a fitting judgment given God’s love for humanity.

As we look at Jonah’s phrase, we need to recognize what is happening here. When considering the seriousness of sin, we must understand that God will judge it. In our introduction message, we learned of the wickedness Assyria’s leaders. There wasn’t anyone in that country that we would consider good. This didn’t catch God by surprise. God will always condemn what is unholy and unjust. The end result is not God’s condemnation of sin. He cares enough to use people to tell His story of redemption. In the O.T., Israel was to be that light of hope for humanity. Is. 49:6 says, “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant  To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;  I will also make You a light of the nations  So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” In the N.T., the new covenant, we have been tasked to carry the light of that hope. God cannot let the wickedness of Nineveh go without judgment. That’s why God commissioned Jonah to tell them! Nineveh was given 40 days to hear His message and respond. “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” (Jer. 18:7-8) God doesn’t dangle a carrot in front of someone then yank it away.

Verse 5 tells us the incredible response to the message. Jonah walked and he talked. Wherever and whenever he had the opportunity, he spoke the truth of God. He had no program, just God’s Word. “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” “Yet thirty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” “Yet twenty days . . . .” The people of Nineveh talked to one another, “Did you hear what that prophet said?” There must have been urgency with Jonah’s message, a sense of impending doom. I also believe God had to have prepared them to hear the truth. I believe that still happens today. Maybe the Ninevites had dreams about a coming prophet. Based on their response, God had to have prepared them in some way. Vs. 6-8 tell us the rest of the story. As a country’s leadership goes, so does the rest of the country. The king understood Jonah’s message and believed it to be true. He directed his nation to fast, to pray, and to repent of their wicked ways. In v. 9 though, the king concludes, “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” The king did it because it was the right, godly, and holy thing to do regardless of how God might respond.

Do we really believe God can work that way today? We live in a very troubled world. War. Hunger. Persecution. Racism. Crime. Islamic fundamentalism. Suicide bombers. The root of the problem we have today is the same problem that Nineveh had. It’s a sin problem and God provided the solution. If we turn from our wickedness to God, if we believe God’s message, we could see the miracle of Nineveh repeated today. The Apostle Paul wrote: “God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message to save those who believe.” (1 Cor. 1:21b) When people hear the Word of God, the completely hopeless find hope. The spiritually dead find life. The unrighteous become righteous. The imperfect find perfection through a holy, righteous, and perfect Savior. We who believe that Jesus is the Christ are the most effective weapon in fighting terrorism. Authentic followers of God don’t blow each other up.

“Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; surely it is near . . . “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.” (Joel 2:1, 12-13)

One With Them

As we enter the Fall season, Open Doors USA is launching the One With Them (OWT) campaign to show our solidarity with those who share our faith but not our freedom. This includes those we serve who desire to read God’s Word, but could be thrown in prison or found in violation of the law for sharing the truths found in Scripture. These truths are foundational to the life of a believer, and through your commitment to help find Bible Sponsors, the ability for Open Doors to provide these words of life is able to continue. If you have not done so already please visit the OWT website and order your free wristband.

When you wear your OWT barb-wire wristband, remember to pray for those who are living in areas of restriction who may not have access to the Word of God as we do. Remember those who are in prison and cannot read the words of life, but who still share with their fellow prisoners. And remember your own freedom to pray for, speak about, and share with those who cannot in freedom.

This November 13th, Open Doors will again be participating in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted (IDOP). This will be an opportunity to join with others in praying for fellow believers in this way. Please visit the International Day of Prayer site on the OWT website for more information, and to sign up to receive special emails and downloads regarding this event.

Thank you for your continued efforts to support these precious believers who are standing strong, even when circumstances try to take away their freedom of belief. Thank you for supporting them and showing your solidarity by wearing your wristband, and by continuing to provide Bibles so that they may continue standing strong.

One with them, and with you.

Special thanks to my friend and Open Doors USA Ambassador Coordinator, Chaelee Madison for this post.

Independently Dependent

America is 235 years.  In the scope of other nations, relatively young. We celebrate this day by going to parades, cooking out, playing some games or relaxing; many people will end the day by watching fireworks. As Americans we enjoy freedom, but it was not always this way.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” (Abraham Lincoln – Gettysburg Address) It was not independence that motivated early Americans, but individual rights. People living in the colonies in those early years were British Americans; citizens of Great Britain. Their main concern was the British Parliament imposed taxes on them to pay for the French and Indian War (7 Years War). There was the Molasses Act, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, Townshend Act, the Tea Act and others. The Colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. Effectively, everything that was bought or sold, imported or exported had a tax placed on it or was regulated. These excess taxes led to the famous phrase, “Taxation without representation” and later “Taxation without representation leads to tyranny.” The Colonists had no representation in the British Parliament. They had no voice, no influence, and no input. The British government would do what they wanted regardless of what the people wanted or believed. This led to the Battle at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 when, “The shot heard ‘round the world” was fired from the North Bridge. Hundreds of Colonists gave their lives to regain these rights. It was during this time of conflict that Patrick Henry, a politician from Virginia gave a speech before the Virginia Provincial Convention. Here is how he concluded it:

“The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable – and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to declare absolute freedom from England. On July 4th, the final wording was ratified and signed by the 56 members of the Continental Congress representing the 13 colonies. The United States of America was born out of a desire to be free from the tyranny of a repressive government bent on controlling its citizens. Abraham Lincoln said, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”

What is freedom? Freedom is often misunderstood in America. We speak of being free, but are we really free? Some define freedom as the ability to do what one desires to do. In the first amendment to our constitution, we speak of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the press and the mostly forgotten freedom to petition the government to redress wrongs. This was something the colonists were not able to do with King George. Even with these freedoms guaranteed by our constitution, are we really free? Many would respond by saying yes, we are free. Yet with our so called freedom, we also have restrictions. These restrictions are known as laws. Every civil society has laws and our founding fathers were not attempting to exercise undue restraints on our freedom. Yes, the Bill of Rights guarantees individual freedoms, but even these individual freedoms are restricted. Your individual freedoms cannot trample on the individual freedoms of another. Our laws are designed to protect people and give us the ability to live among one another in relative peace. We are free, but if you choose to exercise the broadest definition of freedom and ignore the measures we have in place to maintain good order and discipline, we have a whole segment of society set up to ensure that what freedom you do enjoy will be taken away.

Although we live in the greatest country on the planet, Americans may never know true freedom. In the pledge of allegiance, we speak of liberty and justice for all. America’s freedom was won by the spilled blood of our fighting men and women. But there can never really be liberty apart from the One who is really able to guarantee our freedom. Some will use their freedom to reject God which does not bring freedom. Some will use their freedom to denounce the activities of the very people that bought their freedom. We celebrate our independence, yet most Americans remain slaves to sin. We must move from the throne of tyranny to the throne of grace. As Christians, our freedom was won by the spilled blood of Jesus Christ. In Jo. 8:36 Jesus said, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

So what of this Christian freedom? Some would argue that this freedom in Christ gives us the liberty to do as we please, to live our lives in any way that we see fit. 1 Pet. 2:16, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” At the core of our Christian freedom is complete obedience to God and His Son. It is an awesome responsibility to carry the truth found in Christ. It is a privilege to share in God’s plan to reach humanity with the only real truth that will free men from the oppression of sin. Instead of hoping that someone will share the truth of our freedom with others, we must, like the prophet Isaiah act in obedience and say, “Here am I, send me.” Many Christians are content to sit back and watch others to do the work while they enjoy the benefits of that work. Thomas Paine said, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” It has been said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. We say we love God and we love Jesus, but does it stop at that? We love sports and talk this week will surround David Ragan’s first NASCAR win last night. People are still talking about Florida’s overtime win against Georgia last October. If we are truly Christians, we must carry the Gospel message with us, telling others what will bring true freedom. Living and spreading the Gospel is sometimes tiring, sometimes lonely, sometimes stressful, but always worth it. Is. 40:31 says, “Those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

We have a responsibility. As a nation, we have the responsibility to stand up to nations that do not have freedom. We have a responsibility to stand up to tyrannical, oppressive leaders to promote the freedoms we enjoy in America. Our freedom in Christ is far more important than the freedom we enjoy as Americans. We have freedom from the control and bondage of sin. We can live our lives wholly committed and sold out to the freedom and liberty found in Christ. This is our responsibility; our duty; our privilege. Is. 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.” We have the keys that can unlock the prison doors of people’s lives that will allow them to be truly free. Many Christians use this Christian liberty to do nothing. As with our American freedom, there are some content to let others to carry on freedom’s work. Some will even criticize how that work is done, but don’t want to get into the fight for Christ themselves. We must fight for freedom! We must join shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, hand in hand to carry this truth to whoever we can! 2 Cor. 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

True liberty, true freedom will never be found in a government or in a country. True freedom can only come through the finished work of God in His One and only Son Jesus Christ. Our responsibility is to share this truth with others, to live out this truth in our daily lives, to be committed to the truth found in Christ. Ja. 1:25 says, “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” As Americans we celebrate our independence, but as a child of God, I declare my total and complete dependence on God and His Son Jesus Christ and I can boldly say, free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I am free at last.

The Church’s Lie Detector

You can listen to the podcast for this message here. My thanks to Open Doors for providing the resources used here.

Acts 6:11 says, “Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”Sin begins when we agree with a lie. Eve believed the serpent’s lie; “You surely will not die.” Adam believed it too and condemned mankind to a life separated from God. The persecution of the church all over the world also started with a lie.

Take a look at the account of Stephen in Acts 6:8-15.

When did persecution begin? Most people see persecution starting in Acts 8:1, “And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem.” Persecution really began back in Acts 6:11 when a group of Jews at the synagogue in Jerusalem were convinced to tell lies about Stephen saying he had spoken, “Against this holy place and the Law.” (Acts 6:13) Stephen had done no such thing. What he did was offer a Christian perspective on the dwelling place of God which was contrary to Jewish teaching. God longer dwelt in the Temple, but in the hearts of believers. Stephen’s Jewish accusers saw the law as God’s word, whereas Stephen saw it twisted and misinterpreted burdening rather than releasing God’s faithful people. This ignored the fulfillment of the law that had occurred in Christ. John Stott plots the progression of the build up against Stephen: “The opposition degenerated from theology through slander to violence. At first there is serious theological debate. When this fails, people start a personal campaign of lies. Finally, they resort to legal or quasi-legal action in an attempt to rid themselves of their adversary by force. Let others use these weapons against us; may we be delivered from resorting to them ourselves.”

And so Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr, and a great persecution breaks out against the church in Jerusalem as a result. It is no different today. Christians all over the world are the victims of campaigns that are driven by lies. In many places, these lies lead to severe persecution.

There are at least four lies that drive the persecution of Christians today. In the Middle East, the lie is that “Christianity is a foreign religion, a Trojan horse for pro-Israel, pro-American forces.” In countries such as Egypt and in the Palestinian Authority, Christian leaders feel it is necessary to be extra forceful in their condemnation of Israel and the United States, because, as one Coptic Bishop put it, “otherwise they will think we are anti-Muslim.” How ironic given that this is the very soil in which Christianity was born and first flourished. In the Asian subcontinent, the lie is that “Christianity only grows through unethical or forced conversion, and wants to take over our countries by stealth.” This is the cry of the Hindu extremist in India and the Buddhist nationalist in Sri Lanka. But the fact is that it is Christianity’s growth among the poorest segments of the population that threatens the extremist agenda. In India, over 60% of the 30 million plus Christian population has come from the so called Dalit community – the low caste and untouchables who must do the dirty jobs in society that the high caste groups cannot do, lest the system collapse. It is easier to claim these groups have been tempted away “unethically” than to admit that a rival religion is more effective in empowering the poor.

In those countries where the Marxist ideology still lingers, such as China, North Korea, Vietnam and parts of Latin America and Africa, the lie remains this: “Christianity is for weaklings who can’t face the world on its own terms, and need crutches of illusion to get by.”  Remember it was Karl Marx that said, “It [religion] is the opiate of the people.” In a country like China for example, this is manifested in a government fear of organized countryside house groups because, as one official was overheard to say, “The peasants will harm themselves and create social instability through foolish messiah seeking.” In reality, those who turn to Christianity in totalitarian societies show great strength in confronting a hostile government proving that this weakling idea is a lie.

In the West, the lie is that “Christianity is intolerant, anti-scientific, and best kept out of public life completely.” Most often perpetrated by the secularist elite, the concern is that Christianity entails sub-rational belief in absolute categories, resulting in an anti-liberal bigotry that is subversive to the essential nature of democracy. The view illustrates a misunderstanding of the history of democracy and of the nature of belief. Democracy never initially excluded religious viewpoints from public discourse, but welcomed their role in forming moral codes. All beliefs find expression in behavior, so to outlaw Christianity in public life is to allow only atheistic views to flourish publicly – a stealth move of staggering intolerance. Thomas Jefferson would be horrified.

So what’s the challenge of lie detecting for the Church today? Is there a lie threatening to marginalize the church where we are? It is very important to name it, confront it, and refute it before it becomes full-fledged persecution. The persecuted church teaches us two incredible truths about lies. First, they are only told when our enemies feel like they cannot defeat us fair and square. Stephen’s opponents lost the argument in the Synagogue so they resort to lies. As a Chinese pastor said, “When they lie about us, we take it as the ultimate compliment; that they have had to resort to these tactics to make life hard for us.” He also added, “Make sure the world is telling lies about you…otherwise you may not be a threat for Christ to it.”

Second, God turns our enemy’s lies into our love for them. Stephen makes a strong speech, but even as his oppressors were stoning him to death, he was thinking of forgiveness, thinking of Christ as he prayed that this transgression would not be held against them. Sound familiar? This passage in Acts also tells us that there was a man named Saul present at the stoning and he approved of the killing. Yet after a personal encounter with Jesus Christ that led to his complete and total transformation, this man would be the greatest apostle of them all. This is how God’s irresistible Gospel grows. “We are being killed all day long for your sake” writes Paul to the Romans, but adds, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Persecution – and the lies that drive it – is the forgotten dynamic of growth in the Western church today. I wonder how the church would grow in the West if we suffered under the mighty hand of oppression? Paul’s word to Timothy are sounding loudly in my ears, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2Tim. 3:12) Maybe that’s the issue right there. We have no desire to live godly. Oh I’m not saying that we want to engage in unbridled sin, we’ve simply redefined what godliness is.

So what can we do today? There are three things that will make an incredible difference in the lives of the persecuted church. We can pray, act, and give.

First we need to pray. Through weekly prayer alerts. Trough the Frontline Faith brochure. Through monthly prayer calendars. Through IDOP. When you unite in prayer for the persecuted church, you notice a powerful connection, to Christ, to one another, and to our brothers and sisters living under oppression. Brother Andrew has said, “Prayer is not preparation for the battle – prayer is the battle.”

We can act. Get involved. Become the voice of the persecuted by blogging about it, texting, telling your Christian friends. Call or write you elected officials to move persecution higher on their priority list. Write letters to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ – over 100 million of them.

We can give financially to support the persecuted church. Financially support the work of Open Doors. Give through the Gift of Hope catalog where you can support the persecuted church through gifts of bibles, discipleship training, or supporting a secret church.

The people of the persecuted church are not a myth or a legend; it is reality for over 100 million people. Won’t you join in the fight so they can be free to believe?