Refined in Suffering: Finding Wealth in Trials and Tribulations

Marian Anderson's life is an example of someone refined in suffering.

She was born into a poor family but had a rare gift from God.

She overcame racial prejudice and discouragement to become a famous singer.

Her faith and relationship with God helped her stay humble and patient in the face of adversity.

Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music My husband Lee and I were watching the life and story of a woman by the name of Marian Anderson the other evening. Marian Anderson was a famous African-American contralto and was one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century. All throughout watching the video of Marian Anderson's life, both Lee and I experienced such a profound anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit. In summarizing her life. She was born into a poor family where both her mother and father worked menial jobs to support their three daughters. Marion's father died when she was 12 years old, and her beloved grandfather died a year later. Marion's mother worked many long hours to support her daughters, and Marion herself was forced to drop out of high school and help support the family. That's just how bad things were. And when she was very young, the pastor of the family's church called Union Baptist Church recognized that young Marian, who was six years old at the time, had a rare gift from God and began to give her the opportunity to sing solo in the children's choir. She was able to go back to high school and graduated at the age of 24. Marion's fame began to spread. Discouragement due to racial prejudice almost won out when her first public appearance in concert produced negative reviews. She went into seclusion for a year and she determined that she would do something else with her life rather than sing. Her precious mother encouraged her to press on, and Marian Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-20th century. She was refused permission to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Then, President Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, had heard of what had happened to Marian in this act of rejection and bias, and invited her to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Easter Sunday to a crowd of more than 75,000 people and radio audience in the millions. She was such a hit, and God used this awesome event to change the course of acceptance, to break down the barriers for black artists in the United States. She was the first black woman to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1955. Marian Anderson was such an important symbol of grace and beauty during the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s. She sang at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Marion remained active in her church and was involved in the adult choir. She had a quiet and peaceful temperament and would never let her disappointments in life ruin her relationship with her Lord. Racial prejudice was her greatest disappointment. Up until the 1960s, black people were not allowed in public restaurants, nor, as she found out, was allowed to enroll in all-white schools of music because she was black. Her mother was her greatest inspiration and always encouraged Marion to look to Christ and know that God had given her a gift that was to be used for his glory. But because Marian Anderson never complained about her disappointments, nor let the discouragements that she faced get the best of her, God advanced her right through the opposition. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fought her battles for her because she relied, depended, and waited upon him. this woman of grace and beauty was born into a close-knit family whose faith played a major role in shaping and molding the character and nature and direction of this person of such great renown marion's mother's watchwords in teaching her girls were pleasantness modesty and gratitude Humility was anchored in faith. Arrogance was inconceivable. She passed these wonderful traits on to her famous daughter. Marian had written a biography called, My Lord, What a Morning! And she also sings a song with the same title, which can be heard on YouTube, by the way. The next morning, before my husband Lee and I began to pray together, we were discussing what an awesome example of a life of this individual who overcame during her struggles in life as a young girl up until her recognition of the rare gift that God had given her. And all through it she maintained such a deep and intimate relationship with her Lord Jesus Christ. As we were talking the Spirit of the Lord spoke clearly to my heart and said quite plainly, she was refined in her suffering. Both Lee and I felt the presence of God fill up in the room where we stood. The Holy Spirit said it again, but only this time he put it in the present tense by saying, you are refined in your suffering too. Teach about this. I said within my heart, yes, Lord, I will do that. I love how the Holy Spirit will take something like the life of this precious woman who highly esteemed him and glorified him in song, lived a quiet life of humility, and then the Spirit of God witnesses it by manifesting his presence and anointing and says, teach about how you are refined in your suffering too. Jesus is truly worthy to be praised and adored, dear church. He has made all things possible for you and me. And of course, the first thing that I seek to do in any teaching is to back it up and base it on God's Word. So the first scripture we must look at today is found in Romans 12, verse 12. Rejoice and exult in hope. Be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Marian Anderson's mother had taught her about behaving rightly towards her fellow man and she taught that this Christian life and relationship should be open and honest characterized by love and it should be patient and generous Marian Anderson lived up to the word of God that her mother had taught her And this young woman exemplified a truly Christian life by honoring her God in her patient suffering. How many of you know that it is not an easy thing to keep your mouth shut in times of persecution and suffering? Verse 17 of this same chapter declares in Romans 12, 17, Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble, aiming to be above reproach in the sight of everyone. This is saying, in the midst of persecution and suffering, you and I are commanded to behave righteously towards our enemies. Christians should make every effort to be at peace with their enemies, striving to win others to Jesus Christ by showing his love, rather than retaliate with a show or display of hatred or bitterness. In learning about the life of this beautiful, godly woman, Marian would rather than fight against the prejudice she received, despite her enormous popularity, she preferred to avoid situations whenever possible. In Europe, she was welcomed into the finest hotels and restaurants, but in the USA, she was shifted to third and fourth class accommodations. In the South, she often stayed with friends. Simple tasks such as arranging for laundry, taking a train, or eating at a restaurant were often difficult, and she would take meals in a room and travel in drawing rooms on a train at night. And of all of this, she says, quote, If I were inclined to be combative, I suppose I might insist on making an issue of things, but that is not my nature. And I always bear in mind that my mission is to leave behind me the kind of impression that will make it easier for those who follow. Romans 12, 17 again says, Repay no one evil for hatred, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble and aiming to be above reproach in the sight of everyone. And again this is saying that we should make every effort to be at peace with our enemies, striving to win others to Jesus Christ by showing his love rather than retaliate with words or actions that we will regret at some time later in our Christian journey. You see, retaliation or getting even also will prevent a Christian from walking in the blessing and the promises and the providence of God. The Old Testament scripture that parallels Romans 12, 17 is found in Proverbs 20, verse 22. It states, do not say, I will repay evil. Wait expectantly for the Lord. He will rescue you. Well, Jesus is our greatest example of one suffering for a cause. This cause is identified in John 18.35, when Jesus stood before Pilate and Pilate said to Jesus, your own people and nation and their chief priests have delivered you to me. what have you done? Verse 36. Jesus answered, my kingdom belongs not to this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here, from this world. It has no origin or source. verse 37 Pilate said to him then you are a king Jesus answered you say it you speak correctly for I am a king certainly I am a king and this is why I was born and for this reason I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth everyone who is of the truth who is a friend of the truth, who bears the truth, hears and listens to my voice. This is the cause, or the reason why Jesus divested himself of his glory and took on the form of mere man. And this is the reason that he was born into the world. His father sent him to speak the truth as though it was from his own mouth and he was born to be king he is an eternal king with a kingdom that is not of this world i am so thankful that our precious savior did not give up in the middle of all of the horrible suffering he incurred for each and every one of us aren't you who we can get a glimpse into the very heart and soul of our Lord Jesus Christ, and from whence he gained his strength and source of joy as he was in the midst of his fiery trial, as we read Psalms 16, verses 10 through 11. We'll begin with verse 9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory my inner self rejoices. My body, too, shall rest and confidently dwell in safety. For you shall not abandon me to shield the place of the dead, and neither will you suffer your Holy One to seek corruption. Verse 11, you will show me the path of life in your presence. Please hear that. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Both Peter and Paul saw these verses as a prophecy of Jesus' resurrection, because in Acts 2.27, the apostles quoted these verses in testimony of the Messiah to the Israelites who were gathered around them. The beauty of these verses here is that Jesus was without sin, but remember he had taken up on himself all the sin and the corruption of mankind, and still once he died, his body would not see decay. Corruption of the body was a sentence relegated to fallen or sinful man as a penalty from the fall in the garden. Jesus knew that after he died, he would go to hell on our behalf. But he knew also his father would not leave him there, but would after three days bring him up from the depths of the horrible dark pit and seat him at the father's right hand. Jesus said, you will not let your Holy One see decay. In Christ's words in verse 91 say, you have made known the paths of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasure at your right hand. verse 9 sums up Jesus' joy of going to the trial and enduring the suffering that he was going to face on yours and my behalf he says in Psalm 69 therefore my heart is glad and my glory my inner self rejoices my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety Jesus Christ is joyful in his suffering My heart is glad, he says. The Hebrew meaning for the word glad here means to cause, to brighten up, to make gleeful and vivacious, to make merry and rejoice. My heart rejoices and is joyful are Christ's words, even as he knew he was going to face this horrendous ordeal. Jesus really sets the pace for us, dear church. And this is telling us that his joy comes from being in the presence of his Father. Verse 11 says, You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. Dear ones, and this is speaking about something that is supernatural and divine and can only come from the wellspring and source from which it originates. therefore Jesus says my heart is glad it is utterly joyful in my God my Father this divine presence is made manifest in your life too because whatsoever you do it is done or should be done with the aim and full intention of pleasing him the man Jesus Christ was in constant communion in fellowship with his Father and this is why he was without spot and blemish. I pray you catch that dear ones. I pray you catch it. This is why Jesus was without spot or blemish because he was in constant communion and fellowship with his father. His confidence was in his father's promise and that was that he would raise him from the dead. it is done and it is finished these were jesus's last words it is finished he had completed the mission that his father had sent him on and had given him to do Now the greatest king with the only eternal kingdom is making it possible for you and me to be kings and priests while we live on this earth. You must know, dear church, that in order to qualify for these offices, there must be a refinement that we will go through. Jesus' example for us is that we must be refined by these fiery trials that we will go through. Suffering qualifies us for the crown of life that we will receive in the end. Jesus was and is, always has been perfect. He has no sin in his life. But you and I are created beings that must be born again and transformed into the image and the likeness of our Maker. Just as our beloved Savior was raised from the dead by the power of his Father, so must you and I be raised from the dead by sharing in the sufferings that we go through in this life. Romans 6.4 declares, So that just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, so we too might habitually live and behave in newness of life. for if we have become one with him by sharing a death like his we shall also be one with him in sharing his resurrection by a new life lived for God since our way maker has gone before us and is our example and our strength then nothing is impossible for us to face down the road there is a popular song that we sing in the church And it says, because he lives, I can face tomorrow. And because he lives, all fear is gone. And because I know he holds the future, life is worth living just because he lives. How very true. Then it should be whatever trial we may face that brings suffering, we will remember to have the same joyful outlook that our precious Savior had as he walked through an example calm endurance as he went to the cross. Again, the key, the reason or the secret of why Jesus could walk in calm endurance was because he remained constantly in the presence of his Father. And remember, it is only in the presence of God where we can experience the fullness of joy and endure the painful trials that come our way. Our painful trials purify us because we remain in His presence and rely on Him to bring us through. There is a place in God that I always want to be. I always want to be in the view of His vision, dear ones. Psalm 17, verse 8 declares, Keep me the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings From the wicked who oppress me From my deadly enemies who surround me We live in an evil world today, dear church David quoted these words in prayer to God And was reminding God of his sincere efforts to live a godly life He asked God to hear his prayer He asked God for protection from and triumph over his enemies and expressed confidence that God would answer his prayers. David said, Oh my God, please hide me under the shadow of thy wings. And this is a metaphor taken from the hen and her little chicks. And if you do not know or have not heard, God is very jealous over you. In Zechariah 2.8, God speaks through the prophet saying, Whoever touches you touches the apple of mine eyes. How very precious, how very comforting this statement should be for you. As followers of his son Jesus Christ, we are precious in his sight. Something you really need to grasp here is the fact that Jesus has made it possible for you and me and all others who live in his presence to become kings and priests in this life. Romans 5.17 declares, For if because of one man's trespass, death reigns through that one, much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing grace and the free gift of righteousness, putting them into right standing with himself, will reign as kings in life through the one man Jesus Christ, Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. We have the awesome opportunity as a Christian who actually lives in the supernatural manifested presence of God himself to live and reign as kings in this life. Now listen to Romans 6, 11 and 12. So consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relationship to it broken, but alive to God, living in unbroken fellowship with him in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal, short-lived, perishable bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lust and evil passions. Verse 13, do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members and faculties to sin as instruments of wickedness, but offer and yield yourself to God as though you've been raised from the dead to perpetual life, and your bodily members and faculties to God presenting them as implements of righteousness. You see, sin should not rule or reign as king in our bodies, because Jesus Christ took all sin to the cross with him, and it is nailed there. And after he died and breathed his last breath. He went to the depths of hell and left it there where it belongs. Now neither you nor I have to struggle with sin remaining as king in our bodies or our minds and souls. But now, living in Christ and dwelling constantly in his presence with the help of precious Holy Spirit, we can reign as kings over sin in our lives today. Each true child of God has been given the opportunity to reign as a king in this life through the abiding in Jesus Christ. And what we are talking about here is the renewed life in Christ. You see, we must rule over sin in our lives before we will qualify to become priests. The first chapter of Peter paraphrase says, Get rid of all sin, all wickedness, deceit, insincerity, pretense, jealousy, envy, gossip, and instead crave the unadulterated pure word of God and grow beyond the milk of the word, because if you hang out in the milk of the word, you will never know God's righteousness nor overcome sin in your life. Well, verse 5 says, Come, and like living stones, be yourselves built into a spiritual house for a holy, dedicated, consecrated priesthood to offer up those spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. You see, in order to be true priests or worshippers of God, we must put away the sinful pleasures that came with our old nature. but it is here where most of our greatest refinement or purification takes place. This is what I like about the sixth chapter in the book of Romans. It teaches and deals with the renewed and resurrected life. Now how many of you know that change is not easy? This kind of change speaks of refinement and there is a pain or a suffering in this kind of spiritual change. We know not the way that our all-knowing and loving God in heaven will bring this kind of change in our lives to renew the old fallen nature that has ruled over us as king for so many years. But God takes willing souls who have come to realize that they need a Savior to deliver them from the bondage of sin. And he takes nobodies and fashions them into kings and priests for his own glory. Yes, indeed, someday we will reign with him as kings and priests in his eternal kingdom. But right now in this life, we have the opportunity, as I stated previously, to become kings and priests in this life, ruling over sin in our mortal bodies. As priests in this life, we are called worshippers of the Most High God. We have direct access to God. Christ Jesus has made that possible when he said, It is finished. The veil was rent that separates us from the Father. And now, as priests in this life, we can go directly to the Father and make requests of our needs, but more so, we can worship face to face with the Eternal One. As a priest today, instead of offering animal sacrifices, we offer ourselves we offer our substance our tithes our offerings and our service and dear ones the thing that our beloved king looks to receive the most from you as a priest in his kingdom is your song of worship your prayers and your sincere conversation and fellowship you cannot drag sin with you into this place and neither can I We read in 1 Peter 2.1 where he said, get rid of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander, etc. Isn't it so very interesting that in the struggle of our purging of sin from our lives, that the Father remains jealous over us? I almost envision this as I watch a butterfly emerging from the cocoon stage. of the butterfly's struggles as it pulls itself out of the shell of the cocoon. It must be how the Father views us as he watches from on high as we struggle to come out of this sinful way of life. You are refined in your struggles were the Holy Spirit's words to me. You see, suffering is a good teacher of the holy order. Hebrews 5.7 describes that Jesus, although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And by his suffering, his completed work made him perfectly equipped to become the author and source of eternal salvation to all those who heed and obey him. Yes, indeed, suffering is a good teacher of the holy order of God's plan. in my own personal experience I can say I have learned more from going through the fire than anything else it is almost like feeling the rod of God in my darkest times I was able to see the most in God's eternal plan and order and there is a testimony about a pastor who was recovering from a very grave and dangerous sickness One of his friends came to visit him and said, Pastor, even though God seems to be bringing you up from the gates of death, yet it will be a long time before you will sufficiently retrieve your strength and regain vigor enough to have a clear mind to preach as usual. The pastor answered, Oh, you are mistaken, my friend. this six week illness has taught me more about the holy plans and things of God than all of my past studies and all of my ten years in ministry put together. What a testimony. Apostle Paul certainly learned the lesson of being refined in his suffering as well. And we all love it that he was able to share with us and it was ordained of God. he says in 2nd Corinthians 12 7 to keep me from being conceited because of these surpassing great revelations there was given me a thorn in my flesh a messenger of Satan to torment me three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me but he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ's power may rest on me. And that is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. When I am weak, then I am strong. We could say Paul went from thorns to grace. He had experienced an awesome spiritual experience where heavens opened up and he saw into the realm of the supernatural. And to keep Paul from becoming proud, God allowed an infliction to remain with him. To keep Paul from becoming proud, God allowed an infliction to remain with him all of his remaining years, even though he asked God to remove it. He finally learned to thank God for it and realized how much as affliction taught him about the sufficiency of God's grace. Dear ones, I ask you today, in what ways is God refining you? What kind of trials have you been experiencing these days? Are you thanking God for these trials and the troubles and afflictions? Or are you fighting against them and against God. 1 Peter 4, verse 12 declares, Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange, unusual, and alien is happening to you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, rejoice, so that when you see His glory full of radiance and splendor, once revealed you may rejoice with triumph. Can I tell you that if you want to share in the glory of God one day, you must share in the grief that paves the road or way to glory. We should not be surprised when we suffer for our faith, but rather we should rejoice and know that if we bear through suffering now, we will reign with him as kings and priests forever. just like the pastor who was inflicted with a serious illness for a six-week stretch. He was able to grow in a way that he had not in all his years of ministry. I know that for myself in first-hand experience. I have been coming through a health trial that has lasted for three years. In the first few months of my ordeal, the Lord Jesus Christ himself appeared to me and told me that he would restore me even though I still have a ways to go with some other issues I can tell you dear ones that Jesus my healer my great physician has healed me of sugar diabetes I have records of blood tests before and after and I am here to tell you that our God reigns and he does just what he says he will do. I have learned to be patient and wait on him, and above all to trust him. When I was going through my darkest moments in that first six months to a year, I could not even walk upstairs to my office. I remained downstairs with my Bible in my lap, reading the scriptures, declaring the word of God over my life, and studying the word as the Spirit of the Lord would lead me. and it was in this time that the Holy Spirit opened up the word of God in a profound way so that I could see it live in the way the prophets were telling it. Dear church, we serve a loving and merciful God, but I am here to tell you as well, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and this is a warning to the willful sinner for those who deliberately continue to sin after knowing the truth There no other sacrifice that will cover these sins but only God fearful judgment The Lord Jesus Christ will judge his own people. We are told to think it not strange if you are having troubles and trials. What a loving God. He finds it good to bruise you and me. He did not spare his own son the suffering of the cross, and surely he will not spare us the suffering which is so necessary to refine and perfect us. Did you know that through your suffering you are perfected? Jesus was perfected through his suffering, not in the way that we are, however. The horrendous suffering that our beloved went through stood in the fact that he was made more completely equipped and prepared for the work he came to do by the sufferings that he underwent to become our Savior. Through his suffering, his death and resurrection, we are saved from our sins and eternal death. Usually for you and I and all others who endure until the end and through our suffering, we are dealing constantly with the purification and sanctification of our nature by way of our trials and through the word of God. For some, the cross they have to bear will be war. For others, it will be sickness. For some, they will experience poverty. Others will have troubling of the mind. Others will experience imprisonment due to refusal to recant their faith. others will experience persecution others will be exiled and others will face death and through all of this God teaches us patience and perseverance until he sends help from the sanctuary and makes a way for us from our troubles but I ask you again what are you personally going through in the way of trials or troubles remember this is his way of refining you did you know that God isn't mad at you nor does he hate you did you know that this awesome work of God in your life right now through these troubles and trials is his love being projected at you do you know that he cares for you and is hopeful that you will draw closer to him do you know that the Holy Spirit is your ever-present help in times of distress? Do you know that when you are completely alone in the very depth of your trial, whether it be sickness, imprisonment, persecution, loneliness, loss of home, car, finances, or a loved one, or whatever you may be facing today, the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is always there for you. He promises never to leave you, nor will he forsake you. And when you call out to him in all sincerity, he will inflame your hearts to rise above the trouble and grasp a hold of him and hold on tight until he brings you through. He also gives you a renewed joy so that you may cheerfully bear up during these trials and tests, so that you may rest in full assurance that he is with you and he has not forsaken you. He remains your sweet comfort, and you know that you know that he will never depart from you because he is jealous over you and he loves you more than you will ever know. Some are required to literally give up their lives by the sword so that the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ may increase and shine throughout the whole world. We have a case at hand right now with a pastor in a foreign nation who stands to be executed for converting to Christianity. The Christian community is making a big noise over his projected execution so that this ungodly leader in that nation might back down. I've asked myself, am I willing and ready to face the guillotine or the sword one day if my Lord would require that of me? Are you? As I said earlier, we live in an evil world today. God is busy refining his people by way of their suffering. To be refined in our suffering means that we will grow in maturity. and as we grow in maturity, we are perfected. One last question I ask you. What price are you willing to pay in order to be perfected in Christ? Are you willing to go through whatever he requires of you in whatever trial he chooses? Are you willing to give your life by the sword if he should so choose? Well, dear ones, no matter whether it be persecution for being a Christian or whether it be sickness or financial difficulties or loss of a loved one it is all sent our way to refine us and perfect us to be kings and priests who will reign with the master one day in his eternal kingdom. We are on a journey to know and grow in the love of God and share it with those around us. This is what it is all about. this is the design of God in the whole scheme of the divine order it will all be worth it one day as we step into our assigned office as kings and priests in Christ's eternal kingdom allow him to refine you in your suffering no matter what may come your way Thank you. Persecution follows the truth have been closed. The moral decline in the United States is at an all-time high. Unwed mothers' statistics are the highest they have ever been. And the latest report on divorce says that 70% of Americans believe divorce is morally acceptable according to a Gallup poll taken last year, that is in 2008. Leading the world, America is number one in the divorce rate and Puerto Rico is second. Homosexuality and gay lifestyles and marriages are endorsed by more and more states in America. Abortion approval is on the upswing at the same rate. We see more and more involvement in the way of the occult in movies, television, books and music. This evil thread of saint and the devil doesn't stop at the curious teenager or the older generation but it has filtered down to the very young in cartoons, books, movies and games. We see young children making gestures with their hands like they are putting hexes and curses on their siblings, parents and anyone they are angry with. Sensitivity to the kindnesses that used to be in the way of courteous manners like thank you, or no thank you, or please, or respect for the elderly, and so on, are far and few between these days. We have seen an increase in vehicles going down the road, with satanic signs and emblems, with the symbols of death, skull and bones, and advertising the fact that they are a witch or a warlock, and blatant and blaring music ranting about rebellion, death, and hatred. Those versed in the knowledge of the Bible know where this darkness leads and the fateful end of those who do not repent of their heinous, abominable sins and accept the free gift of life everlasting through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior. In the news recently, there was a pastor in California who was holding a Bible study in his home. A local authority from the county came to his home and demanded that he and his wife stop holding these Bible studies based on the fact that they would say, Amen, praise the Lord, and raise their hands in worship. the official representing the county said it was illegal for them to be holding the Bible studies and that if they continued they would be fined $1,000 our rights and freedoms of speech as Christians are being stolen right in front of our faces and our present government leadership is threatening prison sentence awaits us if we speak about homosexuality and gay lifestyles Dear saint, these are condemned by the word of God. How can we keep our mouths shut and be silent when God Almighty, the maker of the heavens and the earth, says, This is evil. Today, good is now being called evil, and evil is called good. God, the author of life, decrees that there is a judgment, a woe, A sentence for those who are wise in their own eyes and call evil good. Isaiah 5.20 In Isaiah 5.20 The word declares woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Who put darkness for light and light for darkness. Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes. and prudent and shrewd in their own sight. Woe to those who are mighty heroes at drinking wine and men of strength and mixing alcoholic drinks. 23. Who justify and acquit the guilty for bribes, but take away the rights of the innocent and the righteous from them. Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be like rottenness and their blossoms shall go up like fine dust because they have rejected and cast away the law and the teaching of the Lord of hosts and have not believed but have treated scornfully and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. May I tell you that there are those in the body of Jesus Christ who have endorsed abortion and I am speaking of well-known ministers who have endorsed and approved of present leadership in government, who have built a platform on these evil and present agendas, God says, Woe be unto you who call evil good. These pastors and ministers have joined together in a partnership with the promoters of those who choose to kill innocent little unborn babies who are the Lord Jesus Christ's inheritance. and I say to you who do you think you are? A woe is a sentence of deep sorrow of grief, of distress and affliction. Woes were pronounced on those in scripture who in the Old Testament betrayed God's righteous standards and in the New Testament were those who betrayed His Son Jesus Christ and the Word of God that Jesus brought to the earth as a spokesman for His Father in heaven. Murder is defined by Nelson's Bible Dictionary as the unlawful killing of one person by another, especially with premeditated malice. Abortion is always premeditated, and it is illegal in the eyes of the author of life, who is the one true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. for a believer to agree with something so heinous and contrary to God's word is to actually partner with Satan the devil and his evil world since Satan is the author of death and the grave and is the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy the world has its judgment already but can I tell you this kind of betrayal for the so-called professors of the faith and especially for those who call themselves minister of the gospel in the church of Jesus Christ, is a great and horrendous crime, and eternal damnation in the darkest and deepest punishments of hell's fire for eternity await them. All this to be heard and seen. All this so that your ministry might be acknowledged and noticed, so that you might be able to write another book and or fill more seats in your congregation? All of this for mammon or money? Jesus Christ pronounced a woe on the man who would betray him. Judas Iscariot, the very one who shared Christ's communion table with him and the one who held the money bag and helped himself to it whenever his lustful passion and greed for more stirred his insatiable appetite. Let's see what the all-knowing and all-wise God said about him, and as a warning for all those with the same kind of betraying heart, because they really did not have a deep and sincere love for their Savior. In Matthew 14, verse 18, And while they were at the table eating, Jesus says, Surely I say to you One of you will betray me One who is eating here with me And they began to show that they were sad and hurt And say to him one after another Is it I? Or is it not I? Is it? He replied to them It is one of the twelve apostles Who is dipping bread into the same dish with me For the Son of Man is going as it stands written concerning him but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good, profitable, and wholesome for that man if he had never been born. Unless there is a deep and bitter repentance for these people who have trespassed against the righteous decrees and laws of God Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ, they will be likened to a Judas Iscariot or a Balaam's greed or Korah's rebellion. Dear Church, God sets the standards of righteousness for all people to live by, but the world chooses not to conform nor to obey God's authoritative laws, which determine and govern the way man shall live. And this is why we must speak out. This is why we must not be silent. The world must hear the truth. There is only one authoritative standard. It is holy and upright living in accordance with God's ways of righteousness. God's character is the definition and source of all righteousness. And so because of this, then man's righteousness is defined in terms of God's holy standard or yardstick. And this yardstick measures and defines man's relationship with God and man. And this measuring stick also defines man's righteous actions which will promote peace and well-being of human beings in their relationships with one another. May I tell you that homosexuality, gay lifestyles and gay marriages and abortion does not fit into God's holy standards of righteousness. After Cain and Abel's parents committed high treason by disobeying God's command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then it was some time later that Cain murdered his brother Abel. This is a very sobering verse in Hebrews 6 which states For it is impossible to restore and bring again to repentance those who have been once for all enlightened who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit. Verse 5, And have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and the world to come. If they then deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance, it is impossible to bring them back to repentance for because while as long as they nailed up on the cross the Son of God afresh as far as they are concerned and are holding him up to contempt and shame and public disgrace. it is always a sure thing to note that when a professor of the faith deviates from the path they begin to show signs of betrayal of perversion of error and apostasy they become blinded to the truth and the artificial tastes of the carnal reason begin to take charge and their senses now lead and guide them saying if it sounds good tastes good looks good, smells good, it is good. This certainly shows us that the highest form of holiness and righteousness offends man's love for his own sin. God's laws and ways, or we could say his plumb line of perfection, becomes distasteful and much hated, and these rebellious renegades, although now deceived, believe that they are right and begin to call evil good and good evil. It is an easy thing now to accuse and persecute those who speak the truth of God in love in order to bring correction and possible insight to the error of their ways. It was King David who said, Lord, I am hungry and thirsty for your justice. It was also David who shows us in Psalms 15 verse 1 Who will dwell on the high places with God Psalms 15 verse 1 Lord who shall dwell in your tabernacle Who shall dwell on your holy hill He who walks and lives uprightly and blamelessly Who works righteousness and justice and speaks and thinks the truth in his heart He does not slander with his tongue Nor does evil to his friend Nor take up a reproach against his neighbor In whose eyes a vile person is despised But he who honors those who fear the Lord Who revere and worship him Who swear to his own hurt And does not change Jesus Christ came for vile sinners And we were all sinners in the eyes of God Until we acknowledged our sins repented of them and were saved by the grace of our Savior. Justice is the desire to be corrected and measured and perfected in order to mature into the fullness of Christ. Justice is God's method of correction. And the Word tells us that God corrects and disciplines every son he receives. this correction if it is received purifies refines our lives and brings about true holiness or perfection in Christ God through his inspired words through Paul shows the necessity and importance of this perfection or better called maturity in Ephesians 4 verse 11 Ephesians 4 verse 11 and his gifts were varied he himself appointed and gave men to us, some to be apostles, special messengers, some prophets, inspired preachers and expounders, some evangelists, preachers of the gospel, traveling missionaries, some pastors, shepherds of his flocks and teachers. His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of his saints, his consecrated people, that they should do the work of ministry towards building up Christ's body, the church. Verse 13, that it might develop until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God that we might arrive at really mature manhood, the completeness of personality, which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection, the measuring of the statue of the fullness of Christ and the completeness found in him. Verse 14, So then we may no longer be children, tossed like ships to and fro between chants, gusts of teaching and wavering, with every changing wind of doctrine, the prey of the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, gamblers engaged in every shifting form of trickery, inventing errors to mislead. Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly. enfolded in love let us grow up in every way and in all things into him who is the head even Christ the Messiah the anointed one for because of him the whole body the church and all of its various parts closely joined and firmly knitted together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied when each part with power adapted to its need is working properly in all of its function grows to full maturity, building itself up in love. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! But if we do not allow the justice or the correction and reproof of the Lord to purify us while today is called today, we will remain in the place of being offended at the truth when it comes to us and will actually become accusers of the brethren and haters of God. Jesus in his pronouncement of woes to the Pharisees in Luke 11.42 is the same judgment that will befall those who refuse to change the Pharisees or pretenders of the faith were the very ones who killed Jesus Christ because his gospel offended them and convicted them of their sin he was the Messiah who was prophesied to come and bring freedom to the captives, but rather than repent, they killed him. They persecuted the righteous saints of God who were approved of God to take the gospel tidings, the good news of salvation to all the world. Read with me, please, Luke 11, verse 42. Luke 11, 42. But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every little herb but disregard and neglect justice and the love of God these you ought to have done without leaving the others undone woe to you Pharisees for you love the best seats in the synagogue and you love to be greeted and bowed down to in public marketplaces woe to you for you are like graves which are not marked or seen and men walk all over them without being aware of it and are ceremonially defiled. One of the experts in the Mosaic law answered him, saying, Teacher, you reproach and outrage and affront even us. But he said to them, Woe to you, the lawyers also, for you load men with oppressive burdens hard to bear and you do not personally even gently touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you, for you are rebuilding and repairing the tombs of the prophet whom your fathers killed and destroyed. Verse 48 So you bear witness and give your full approval and consent to the deeds of your father, for they actually killed them, and you rebuild and repair monuments to them. For this reason also the wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles. Some of them will be put to death and be persecuted. Jesus says, if they hated me, they will hate you. The world hates the truth of the gospel because it brings conviction that sin is evil and is condemned by God. This is why the atheists and God-haters are trying to write everything out in our nation's government and national monuments that speak of in God we trust or the Ten Commandments or the symbol of the cross. Our world today is offended at the cross of Jesus Christ Jesus actually annulled the covenant of death And the agreement that we had with Satan the devil When we accepted him as our Lord and Savior Isaiah 28 verse 16 declares Therefore thus says the Lord God Behold I am laying in Zion for a foundation A stone, a tested stone a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes and trusts in and adheres to that stone will not be ashamed or give way or hastened away in sudden panic. Verse 17. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and waters will overwhelm the hiding place, the shelter. And your covenant with death shall be annulled and your agreement with Sheol, the place of the dead, shall not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, then you will be trodden down by it. How unfortunate it is today that many reject Jesus' teaching, which his heavenly Father had given him to bring to the earth and declare to all that he was indeed God's answer and atonement for our sin and eternal salvation. salvation by the cross by our crucified Christ was and still is a stumbling block and offense to many how unfortunate that so many hate and loathe a message and an act of love that was meant to set them free of the prisons that confine them and keep them from enjoying true peace, joy and love we can see that this offense of the cross is shown in the way of actual persecution of believers, but most often by slandering believers, mocking them and calling them old-fashioned, foolish, weak-minded, conceited and self-righteous. Offense of the cross is also shown by great and horrendous persecution of Christian believers who are tortured and unmercifully beaten and thrown into prison for their testimony of Jesus. Persecution for righteousness' sake is defined by the hatred and affliction that follows the witness and the holy lives of God's people in a hostile world. The New Testament teaches that God's people will suffer persecution. Jesus taught that God's prophets always face persecution and his disciples should expect the same. In Matthew 10.22, Jesus said, You will be hated by all for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved from spiritual disease and death in the world to come. And when they persecute you in that one town, that is, pursue you in a manner that would injure you and cause you to suffer because of your belief, flee to another town, for I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. The world and the pretenders of the faith or those who just use Christ's name for their own greedy purposes call true Christians crazy, weak-minded, and needing Jesus as a Savior and Lord and say it's like needing a crutch to lean on and as a futile and empty religion. we get what we ask for when we speak about the gospel and confess the truth knowing that it courts danger and brings upon ourselves the hatred and animosity of the whole world they say is this not foolishness apostle paul did not mind the hatred of the world coming to him in his day it made him all the more bolder to confess jesus christ and the hatred of the world and Paul's estimation was prophesying well for the future growth and success of the truth which always prospered best in the times of persecution. And when the offense of the cross ceases, when the anger and rage of the enemies of the cross lessens, and when everything is quiet, it is a sign that the devil is the doorkeeper of the church and that the pure word of God has been lost. Prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 38, verse 17, Behold, it was for my peace that I had intense bitterness, but you have loved back my life from the pit of corruption and nothingness, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For Sheol, the place of the dead, cannot confess and reach out the hand to you. Death cannot praise and rejoice in you. They who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness to your promises. The living shall thank and praise you as I do this day. The Father shall make known to the children your faithfulness and truth. And the Lord is ready to save, to deliver me. Therefore I will sing my songs with my stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord. well prophet Isaiah says in verse 17 behold it was for my peace that I had intense bitterness he says yes now I see it was all good for me to undergo this bitterness for you have lovingly delivered me from death and you've forgiven all my sin for dead men cannot praise you they cannot be filled with hope and joy and your peace oh God well apostle Paul looks with suspicion upon a doctrine or a gospel that does not provoke antagonism. It was not too long ago that we had hate mail on our website from a man who had an antichrist spirit and who ranted at the messages that I was teaching. And we felt that there was an undertone of a threat when in one part of his blistering and haranguing letter he said, Patricia, just shut your mouth and get a life while you still have life. Well, we did not bother to respond to his letter, but instead we prayed for his soul that the Lord God would have mercy upon him and open his eyes to the truth in his word. King David petitioned the Lord for his mercy and for deliverance from his enemies when he said, Lord, I believed your truth and I spoke it out and now I am greatly afflicted for it. Psalms 116 verse 1. Go there with me, please. Psalms 116 verse 1. I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications, because he has inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call upon him as long as I live. The pains of death surround me And the pains of Sheol laid hold me And I found trouble and sorrow And then I called upon the name of the Lord O Lord, I implore you, deliver my soul Gracious is the Lord and righteous Yes, our God is merciful The Lord preserves the simple I was brought low and he saved me Return to your rest, O my soul For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Verse 10, I believed, therefore I spoke. I am greatly afflicted. Persecution always follows on the heels of the word of God as David had experienced. He said, I believe, therefore I was greatly afflicted. David is referring to his faith when he says, Lord, I believe and therefore I have spoken. And Apostle Paul referred to these very words of David in 2 Corinthians 4.13 as he was speaking of the persecution that he himself and the others face daily. 2 Corinthians 4.13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he who wrote, I have believed and therefore have I spoken. We too believe and therefore we speak Assured that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and bring us along with you into his presence. Verse 15, for all these things are taking place for your sake, so that the more grace, divine favor and spiritual blessing extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many and more thanksgiving may increase and redound to the glory of God. Verse 16, therefore we do not become discouraged, utterly spiritless, exhausted and wearied out, Through fear, though our outer man is progressively decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being progressively renewed day after day. Verse 17. For our light and momentary affliction, the slight distress of this passing hour, is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory, beyond all measure excessively surpassing all comparisons and calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease. Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are visible are temporal, brief and fleeting, but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting. Praise God. Praise the Lord. Paul was referring to himself and his fellow ministers of the gospel who although they suffered for Christ's sake, they were not ashamed to own him and make him known. King David believed the very being and providence and promise of God, particularly the assurance God had given to him by prophet Samuel, that he would exchange his shepherd's rod for the kingly scepter. And this would be after a great deal of hardship with Saul pursuing him and seeking to kill him so that he would not inherit the throne. And it must be noted here with these two great men, that is King David and Apostle Paul, that they believed with all of their hearts and confessed with their mouths for the glory of God, the encouragement of others to the evidence of their own sincerity that those who live in the hope of the kingdom of glory must neither be afraid nor ashamed of their obligation to Jesus Christ who purchased it for them. We have an obligation to our Lord and must never be silent as to the wonderful gospel of truth and freedom found only in Jesus Christ that he will set men and women free, those who will receive it. Paul says in Romans 10 verse 9, because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe that God raised him from the dead you will be saved for with the heart a person believes and so is justified and with the mouth he confesses and confirms his salvation the scripture says no man who believes in him will ever be put to shame or disappointed verse 12 No one, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all of us, and he generously bestows his riches upon all who call upon him in faith. All over the world today, Christians are accused and slandered without mercy. Murderers and thieves receive better treatment than Christians. The world, which is Satan's system, regards true Christians as the worst offenders for whom no punishment can be too severe. The world and its antichrist spirit hates Christians with an amazing brutality and without qualm commits them to the most shameful deaths, congratulating itself that it has delivered God and the cause of peace a noble service by ridding the world of the undeserved presence of Christians and Jews. There is an account of a woman named Kristiana Oluwassin, who on March 21, 2007, looked forward to the ending of that school day. That's because the Christian teacher was to leave the government high school in Gombe, a city in northern Nigeria, be reunited with her husband, Femi. But first things first, she had to give her female students their final exam. The exam would test the student's knowledge of Islam. To prevent cheating, she collected the book bags of each student and brought them to the front of the class. One of the students began to cry. She told the class that there was a Koran in her bag, and by touching the bag, the Christian teacher had desecrated the Koran inside it. Tears turned to outrage and anger, and soon the class was shouting, Aluha Akbar, which means God is great. They began threatening the teacher. A fellow teacher rushed Christiana to the principal's office, and the official locked the school teacher in the bathroom to get her away from what was now an angry mob. But outside, the anger was growing. Radical Muslims who lived nearby heard the commotion and ran to the school. Eventually, a mob of Muslim extremists dragged Christiana out of the school and clubbed her to death and then burned her body. Another account tells of a 10-year-old Hun Joo who was different. Few Northern Korean children know about God, but Hun Joo believed in God and trusted him. Hun Joo's parents were Christian. They shared their faith with their daughter even though they knew they might be punished if officials found out. The country's leaders want people to honor them, not God. Hun Joo's parents wanted her to know about Jesus in spite of the obstacles, and they prayed that God would use her to change North Korea. One day, Hun Joo's aunt, Miss Kim, came to her home for a visit. But the house was empty. The family had vanished. A friend later told Miss Kim what had happened. Hun Joo's teacher at school had asked her, How did you get such good grades on your test today? By the grace of God, Hun Jun answered. The teacher was angry. She dragged Hun Jun out of the classroom, and then her family disappeared. No doubt, the government took them away, and no one has heard from them since. There is an account that tells about a man whom God instructed to speak out about his faith. Latif was born and raised in a Coptic Christian family. He became a quiet Christian. In Egypt, where proselytizing is illegal, Latif rarely shared his faith. Then in 1994, he says he heard God's voice compelling him to tell others about Christ. That is when he zealously began sharing the gospel with Muslims in his upper Egyptian village. Soon after, Latif was arrested and jailed. When released, he returned to evangelizing. He was put back in jail. This had gone on for the last 14 years with Latif's most recent arrest and release occurred in 2008. Often when Latif is arrested, he undergoes extreme torture. During one arrest in 1996, an Egyptian state security officer punched him in the mouth and broke two of his teeth. He shouted, don't talk about Christ, don't preach, don't evangelize, recalled Latif. He said, this dog will no longer talk about Jesus. Once he was locked in a toilet stall where guards urinated on him. Repeated electric shocks injured his feet and his lower abdomen was sliced so severely with the knife, his intestines spilled out. Guards allowed jailed Muslim soldiers to extinguish their lit cigarettes on Latif's arm and shoulder. But Latif could not remain silent. Even in prison he shared Christ. On one occasion, while he was in jail, incarcerated Muslims asked Latif to lead prayers from the Koran. They assumed he was part of a conservative Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood. Latif agreed, but he prayed using Bible verses. He was able to do this for four months. Many Muslims do not know what is in the Koran. They only know what the Muslim teachers have told them. One inmate even told him how Lateef's prayers were the first time he ever heard prayers that were real. When Lateef was caught evangelizing in prison, he was tortured. Once he was tied to a ladder with ropes and the ladder was turned upside down, Lateef said. Three security offers beat me all over my body with wooden sticks and said I was a kafir, an unbeliever, and deserved the beatings. I prayed for my persecutors because they did not know Jesus. I ask God to reveal the truth to them. Lateef says God has allowed his repeated imprisonment and torture in order to be glorified. I am like garbage. The glory is for the Lord only. The Lord said they will hate me without reason. But I cannot stop talking about him, Lateef says. I do not share these stories with you to play on your emotions or to cause you to feel inferior in your walk with your Savior or to intimidate or to shame you. But how many of us need a wake-up call in the body of Christ today as to the persecution that comes to true believers in Jesus Christ when they live what they believe and share the faith with those around them? Dear believer in Christ, we are not to let such treatment and threats cause us to stumble in our faithfulness to Jesus. As long as we experience such persecutions, we know all is well with the gospel. Jesus told his followers and held out this same comfort to them when he spoke in Matthew 5.11 and said, Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Many of us will never experience the persecution that our precious brothers and sisters go through in these nations that we have just heard about today. But may I tell you that the move in this nation as well as other nations with the infiltration of radical Muslims whose belief is that if you do not believe in the Koran, you should die. we as the church must not come short of this joy that Jesus is speaking about when we are persecuted for righteousness sake Jesus says rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven we cannot compromise to be at peace with anyone unless they agree and consent to the truth in God's word God's word is found only in Holy Scripture and is the ultimate authority in all source of truth Truth is the conformity to fact or actuality. It is faithfulness to the original standard. Truth is a fundamental moral and personal quality found only in God. God proclaims in Exodus 34 verse 6 that he is merciful and gracious, that he is long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth. he is a God of love and not a God of hatred he is a God of truth that means he is without any injustice altogether truth is a moral and personal characteristic of God Isaiah 65 verse 16 declares and so shall it be that he who invokes a blessing on himself in the land shall do so by saying, May the God of truth and fidelity, the Amen, bless me. And he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth and faithfulness to his promises because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hidden from my eyes. Because of his perfect will, God has to speak and act in truth. He cannot lie. and so it is for we the church of the living God we must step out and speak the truth and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and suffer the persecution that comes along with the territory because the gospel alone declares the mercy, love and glory of God Almighty who is the creator of all things people need to hear about Jesus and the love that he has for them and because of our sharing the gospel it stirs up the devil and his cohorts because the truth shines the light on who Satan really is those who preach and teach and evangelize the gospel of Jesus Christ should not be surprised or offended when all hell breaks loose Jesus says rejoice because ultimately it is a joyous indication that all is well with the gospel of the cross. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. As missionaries in a nation that is a territory of the United States of America, we lived in a very dark part of the island where there was a great satanic stronghold. We learned that there were as many churches as there were satanic covens in this town. The persecution that we experienced came in the way of having our utilities shut off for months at a time. Witches and warlocks coming on the property to plant their curses and incantations against us, gunfire and to intimidate us into leaving the property where we lived and held our Bible study, prayer meetings and services. We endured the slander and gossip from those who were said to be brothers and sisters in Christ. But oh God forbid that the offense of the cross should ever be removed. If the offense of who Christ is, what he did, and what he has provided were to be removed or watered down, Satan and his followers would have the advantage. Jesus Christ came and spoke about men's sin and said that we must repent of our evil ways and accept his blood sacrifice in order to have eternal life. And the world does not want to hear about their sin because they are happy with it. So when we talk about abortion, homosexuality, adultery, fornication, Satanism, false religions which are Satan's inventions and systems and speak about the truth from God's word, we will be p

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