Hello beloved child of God, I hope you’re fine by God’s grace.
Today we’re going to talk about persecution.
Matthew 10:23 NKJV
When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Many Christians believe that being persecuted implies that they have to stay in the same environment (city, country, some relationships etc.) in which they are being persecuted.
However, when we read Matthew 10:23, we understand from The Lord’s instructions that being persecuted doesn’t annul the commandment of The Lord to go into all the world to preach The Gospel of salvation and newness of life in Christ Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20)
Matthew 28:19-20 KJV
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The very reason why Christianity spread so much, is because Christians didn’t remain in one spot. In the midst of persecution, they would spread to different places in order to reach the maximum number of people they could reach for Christ. Jesus Christ Himself during His public earthly ministry didn’t remain in the same city all the time. He moved around towns/cities to teach them God’s Word, to heal the sick and to deliver those who were oppressed by the devil. He even instructed His disciples to shake off the dust from their feet when people would not receive them or hear their words in a house or city. He made it clear that they had to move on and keep preaching God’s Word.
Matthew 10:11-14 NKJV
“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
Some of us prefer to remain in environments where people are persecuting us believing that it’s the best thing to do, and without doing anything to broaden our spectrum of action. As such, some of us remain stagnant in places and we do not win anyone for Christ, nor help anyone grow in their relationship with God, while if we had just moved to another house, another town, another church, another group of friends, another country, we would have reached hundreds and perhaps thousands of people for Christ.
- Are we really productive in the spot in which we’re persecuted?
- Is it really useful to keep hanging out with your friends at school who persecute you daily because you’re serving Christ, instead of you finding another group of friends who actively preach the Gospel and with whom you’ll grow in your faith and bring many people to Christ?
- Is it really the best thing to remain in a “church” or a “Christian organisation” in which no one believes The Bible, and in which you are persecuted when you actually try to step out believing The Bible, praying for the sick, casting out demons, setting people free? Would it not be better to move and to surround yourself with like-minded Christians to have a greater impact?
- Is it really the best thing to do to remain in a city for 10 years in which you are being persecuted and bringing no one to Christ because you’re too scared to go out of your house? Wouldn’t it be better to move to somewhere where you can actually bring souls to Christ?
We understand from Jesus’ words in The Bible that we will be persecuted, we can’t escape that. However, I believe that the devil uses persecution to generate fear in Christians and to distract them from their mission, which is to win souls for Christ. It’s important to evaluate where we are in soul winning, and to realize that, at times we should leave a place of high persecution to a place of soft persecution, not because we are lazy, or afraid to suffer for Christ, but because in the end, our priority is to bring souls to Christ. If the rate of persecution is so high that you’re not even able to bring people to our Lord Jesus Christ, then you have to re-evaluate what you’re doing there.
Some people live in the same town in which they grew up before being saved. When they try to preach the Gospel, the people who have known them before they were saved just criticise them and don’t even want to listen to them, they even say wicked things about them to destroy their testimony. Instead of holding on to your town, go else where, where no one knows you, and preach the Gospel, and win souls for Christ.
Matthew 13:57 NKJV
So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”
How many times did the Apostle Paul have to move from one place to another because of persecution? But he kept in mind that his purpose was to preach The Gospel, so he didn’t let it slow him down, he would preach as much as he could in a town and then when persecution would compel him to leave, he would leave and go else where and keep preaching (see Acts of the Apostles).
God didn’t call us to stay stagnant. I believe that our Lord Jesus Christ knew that the devil would try to distract us with persecution and limit us such that we would stop preaching because of persecution. That’s why He gave us the command to move/flee, so that if persecution is stopping us from preaching Christ, we can always move elsewhere to preach, till we get persecuted again and have to move elsewhere. At least we will be productive for God’s kingdom.
Conclusion
Don’t let persecution stop you from preaching The Gospel. Preach where you are and if it becomes necessary, change your environment but keep preaching. If you have to change friends, change friends. If you have to change your church, house, town, city, country in order to be productive for Christ do it because what matters most is winning souls for Christ.
Prayer
Father Lord God Almighty King of Glory, I thank You for You’ve called me to preach the Gospel. Help me to not let persecution distract me from my main goal which is to preach The Gospel. Help me see areas of my life where I have to move in order to be more productive for Your Kingdom, in Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
Prayer requests
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God bless you
Victoria Eyog
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