Persecution's Power

Jael's Lesson:

For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about persecution and martyrdom lately. It's not exactly a cheerful topic, so it's strange that I, who to think mainly about cheerful things, should be pondering as much as I have been. But the other day, I was doing my morning devotions, and I came across Psalm 34. Now, this psalm is not the Psalm most people run during times of persecution. But, as I read it, I realized it really does fit the topic quite well. Psalm 34 is a cheerful Psalm, and I think the reason that, most of the time, we think it doesn't fit well, is because we imagine persecution something awful or dreadful. But it is really an excellent privilege. It ushers us into the presence of a our Lord, and it's one of the greatest honors that a Christian could ever have! So let's start the beginning of the Psalm, and we'll just read through it.

Verse 1:
"I will extoll the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." What a way for the song to start out! Talks about praising the Lord from the very beginning. But, in order to do this, your heart must be purified, because someone whose heart is full of filth and discontent can never praise him all times, especially when being persecuted. Let me share an example of this. I once read a story about some Christians who were being led into the arena to be eaten by wild animals. Normal people, in such a situation, would be pleading and begging for their lives. But not the Christians! They would lead into the arena singing praises to their King and Savior. They had no fear of the Lions. Their faith was in their God, and they knew that he would always do what was best for them.

Verse two:
"My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice."
God totally rocks. Let's just set that straight here and now. God is awesome! But it's one thing to say that here, in a comfortable house, and quite another to say it when you're being tortured. Here, you say it in a rather hum-drum way, 'cause you know it's true because you've been told it all your life, and you've also felt little nudges from God. But, when your body is being torked and pained and evil people are doing everything they can do to hurt you, God's awesomeness takes on an entirely different meaning. (Or so I've been told. I've never been tortured.) [ACT OUTHE STORY?] A great example of this in found in Acts 16:25. "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." They had peace, even after being flogged and tortured and pained in general. :-) This verse ties in with the next. "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." After Paul and Silas had been singing (and the other prisoners had been listening in - I just think it's so cool that their hope and joy was being transmitted to the other prisoners! I mean, if you were in jail, wouldn't you love fellow prisoners like Paul and Silas to cheer you up!?), there was a tremendous earthquake, and all the prisoners' chains came off. But none of them escaped! The jailer was so scared that he was about to kill himself, but Paul and Silas were able to offer hope to the afflicted (like in verse two). But that Bible story about Paul and Silas shows the power of Christians being together. Their love of Jesus just oozes out onto everyone else. They are positively dangerous! I've heard of jailers and governors and executioners being converted by Christians who were all stuck together in a jail cell! Some bad guys got so tired of their accomplices getting converted that they stuck each Christian into separate cells, hoping to dampen their witness. (chuckle)

Okay. On to verse 4.
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."
Note that it doesn't say that The Lord delivers you from all your troubles. It says that he delivers you from all your fears. Fear can be one of the greatest hindrances to success. For example, I am totally petrified of making phone calls. Like, I get butterflies in my stomach. It's AWFUL!! But, if I could get rid of the fear, phone calls wouldn't be a bad thing at all! So, if and when persecution comes, trust God to deliver you from your fear!
I once read about a man who was about to be thrown to the lions in a Roman amphitheater. But he was not afraid! He actually called the lion his friends, "because they were going to usher him into the presence of his Lord." Oh God! Give me courage like that!

Verse 5:
"Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."
Although Christians may be thrown into prison for their confession of Christ, God promises that those who look to Him constantly will never been put to shame. They may suffer all sorts of terrible things at the hands of evil men, but they will have no reason to blush before the throne of God on Judgment Day. Just recently, I heard about a man who was being tortured for his faith. He suffered many things, but would not waiver in his conviction. Someone asked him how it was done, and he said, "I just look to my Savior, and pray that I may not deny him, no matter what they are doing to me or my family. And, thus far, He has kept me true. He is always right by me, and helps me keep a clear head whenever the tempter is near." Just thinking about it makes me go, "Wow!" I pray that when I have to suffer for Jesus, He will make me as strong as that!

Verse 6 is quite similar to verse 4. "This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles." I once read about girl named Perpetua who was totally terrified of pain. She was arrested for being a Christian, and was eventually handed over to be fed to the wild animals in the arena, along with some of her friends. After several minutes of being tossed and trampled by the beasts, she said to one of her friends, "When will they begin to attack?" Her friend glanced at Perpetua's bleeding face, and said, "They HAVE been attacking you!" Perpetua replied, "But I have felt no pain!" God had delivered her both from her fear of pain, and from pain itself! God is merciful. One of my favorite Bible verses of all time is 1 Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." That verse just gives me such hope! God knows how much I can or cannot bear!

Verse 7:
"The angel of the Lord in camps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."
I once read about a missionary family in Africa. They were faithfully serving The Lord, but the local witch doctor was really mad at how many converts they were making! So, he hired a local man hunter to go to their house, and kill them all while they slept. So, the guy took some of his henchmen along, and crept up on the house under the cover of darkness. But, when they got to the house, what they saw there made them turn on their heels and flee! The next morning, the man hunter walked up to the missionary's house, and asked the guy, "How can I be saved?" The missionary was delighted, and explained the way of salvation, which the man accepted. But, as the former man hunter was preparing to leave, he asked the missionary, "uh...where do you keep all your guards?" The missionary was surprised and said, "We don't have any guards!" But he insisted, "Last night, I came here to kill you, but surrounded your house were three rows of the largest, biggest, strongest men I had ever seen; all with swords, and wearing white tunics!" Then the missionary realized that God had protected them last night by sending angels to encircle the house.

Verse 8.
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man takes refuge him."
Remember where Jesus says, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God"? Well, here's an earlier verse that says the same thing. :-) There was a guy who was locked into prison for many years, in solitary confinement. He saw very few people during his years there, yet he lacked nothing, because, in his younger days, he had felt compelled to memorize from
Romans to Hebrews. During his time in prison, he realized how valuable that chunk was Scripture was, and, since it was memorized, he was able to meditate on it constantly, and it sustained him.

Verse 9:
"Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing."
This is a verse that many "health, wealth, and prosperity" preachers say is proof that Christians will never lack any good thing. But that's not what it says. Someone may not even have a shirt on their back, and be the happiest, most content creature alive, lacking nothing. And, a lot of Christians in persecuted countries view their persecution as a good thing. Once, when Brother Andrew was behind the iron curtain, he met with a group of church leaders. During the course of their conversation, he mentioned that the churches back where he was from were praying for them to remain strong. One of the leaders said, "Thank you so much! And we also pray for you!" Brother Andrew was astonished, and said, "But, we're not the ones undergoing persecution!" The pastor replied, "And that's why we pray for you! Without persecution, how do you keep from growing cold in your faith? The persecution keeps us devoted to our cause, but you guys AREN'T being tortured. It must be SOOO hard to keep from growing cold!"

[TAKE A BREAK TO WRITE LETTERS TO PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS]

Verse 10:
"The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."
You would not believe how many times this verse actually was proved true in the early church! As I was reading through all these histories of early martyrdoms  I kept running across paragraphs like, "Although the lion had not been fed in many days, he would not approach the Christians. Even when prodded with red-hot irons, he could not advance. At times, it was like some invisible force was pushing the lion backwards! Finally, the executioner just ran the Christians through with a sword, and they died." Literally, the lions grew weak with hunger, but Christians were in heaven, lacking no good thing!

Verse 11:
"Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord."
This verse is the theme verse of persecution. Imagine persecution saying to all Christians, "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord." It's like a red-hot stove saying to Rosemary, "Come, Rosemary. Listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the stove!" Nothing increases your respect of a stove like getting burned. In the same way, not increases your devotion to your King like persecution. I know very few people who will die for something they don't believe in, or know to be false. But if you KNOW something to be true, all of creation can't take it away from you.

Verse 12 and 13:
"Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and you lips from speaking lies."
Have any of you ever heard about a guy name Richard Wurmbrand? He was tortured in Romanian prisons for many years, yet he never gave up his faith. In fact, once he told his fellow Christian prison mates, "I made a deal with the guards. They beat me. I preach to you. That way we're both happy." That's dedication, I tell you! After all those years of beating, though, his heart was full of love. I once talked with someone who had spoken with him before he died, and they said, "That guy's eyes were so full of love that they almost exploded with all the pressure!"
If and when I'm persecuted, that's what I want people to say about me! I have trouble loving everyone when I'm not persecuted, so I know that God's gonna have to really work in me!

Verse 14:
"Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."
A long time ago, there was this guy named Dirk who was being ruthlessly chased by the local pagan magistrate. Dirk was a Christian, and he knew the Bible's command to seek peace. So, during the course of their foot chase, Dirk dashed across a frozen pond. The magistrate, who was slightly heavier that Dirk, broke the ice, and fell into the frozen river. His screams for help reached Dirk's ears, and Dirk knew what he had to do. He turned round, went back onto the ice, and rescued his pursuer. Instead of showing his thanks by letting Dirk go (since his only "crime" was that of being a Christian), he arrested Dirk, and put him into prison, where he eventually died. Dirk could have SO EASILY left the magistrate to drown, while he went free, but he knew that that wouldn't be the God-honoring thing. "Seek peace and pursue it."

Verse 15-16:
"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off at memory of them from the earth."
One of the consolations Christians in chains have is that their King sees them, and hears them. Then, He acts mightily on their behalf, in various ways. For some, He delivers them from their pain. For others, He helps them withstand everything, and stay true to their God.
But those who have their faces against God, He puts to shame. There was this guy in the 1800's named Friedrich Neitze who was convinced that God didn't exist. In fact, he once said, "God is dead." (!) Yet, Friedrich Neitze died, and God is still around.
Just the other day, I saw a quote that said, "Friedrich Neitze said, "God is dead." God says, "Friedrich Neitze is dead." Those who rebel against God never get very far.

Verse 17-18:
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
As I mentioned earlier, God doesn't usually act as we expect. He doesn't usually rescue us like we're expecting, but He rescues us from our fear, or from Satan. But He loves people with broken hearts. It's like clay that's been worked with for a while, soft and pliable. It can be shaped any way He wants it.
I read about a girl who was being led to the stake, all the while being encouraged to blaspheme Jesus. But she refused so steadfastly, and showed such courage that her EXECUTIONER was converted, and had to be killed with her!

Verse 19:
"A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;"
This verse really stuck out to me. It dawned on me that the more problems I encounter, the more often God will be able to rescue me. So, the more problems I have, the more miracles I'll see. But just talking about this is rather dull. Let me prove it to you, in a rather elementary example. [ACTIVITY]

Verse 20:
"he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken."
Any famous example you can think of for this one? Yes. Jesus! :-) 'nough said.

Verse 21:
"Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned."
Maybe it's because I'm so vindictive, but I just love the idea of evil doers coming to justice. I mean, I want all to be saved, but if someone has done wrong, and won't repent, I want to see them get their just desserts. So, when I read a true story about a Roman governor who was a terrible persecutor of the church, I was so excited. This guy was just brutal in his persecution, and many Christians died after horrible torture by his order. But then, his province was overthrown, and the governor himself was subjected to some of the same tortures he had used on Christians!

Verse 22:
"The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned and takes refuge in him."
This verse refers to the end times. Although we may be condemned to death here on earth, God will sustain us so that we are not condemned before God. I read about a Christian who was particularly steadfast in his confession of Christ. When asked later after his release how he could be so bold, he replied, "I had read about Peter, and his denial of Christ, and I did not want to weep bitterly.

If you want the lesson in a sentence, this is what I want to have passed along:
Persecution is not something to dread, because God always provides grace for the moment. He rejected Jesus (on the cross) so that He'd never have to reject you.