The Persecuted Church, Part 4

Driving home: However, though this is entirely new for many, if not all of us, there are many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in many parts of the world who have never known that there was a war. what it is to live in any other …

The collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, is used to illustrate a new, unsettling sense of uncertainty and vulnerability in America, contrasting it with the constant reality of persecution for Christians worldwide.

When those two towers were converted from the centers of international commerce into a pile of rubble in less than several hours, we began to experience something we have never experienced before. This past week, I'm sure you're aware that those who know the things that need to be known apprised us. That we should come to a higher level of sensitivity to the possibility of terrorist activity in our midst. This is new for all of us.

3:22 - 4:03 Read in full sermon

Driving home: However, though this is entirely new for many, if not all of us, there are many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in many parts of the world who have never known that there was a war. what it is to live in any other …

Martin shares his personal experience of living through WWII without the same sense of terror as the current threat of terrorism, highlighting the unique nature of the present vulnerability.

Even for those of us who lived through the Second World War. And I'm one of them. Never did I have a sense of terror and dread that German soldiers would come to 94 Soundview Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut.

4:04 - 4:18 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in Bible-framed intercessory prayer on behalf of the persecuted, remembering them at the throne of grace.

A quote from John Piper's 'The Hidden Smile of God' is used to connect the 'ease and fun' of modern Western Christian life with increasing entertainment in corporate worship, suggesting a lack of martyrs during the week leads to a desire for 'Bob Hope and some pretty girls' on Sunday.

Secondly, that obedience to Hebrews 13.3 will create a continual reminder of the importance that suffering for Christ is the normal accompaniment of being a true disciple of Christ. And in my application of that second point, I underscored why it is crucial in the training of the rising generation that they be aware that suffering goes with being a disciple, and that this will affect how we train them, what we will seek to project as the worship of God, what it is to be a Christian. And since then, I was reminded by one of our sisters of something I had read, and it struck me at the time. This...

8:10 - 9:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in Bible-framed intercessory prayer on behalf of the persecuted, remembering them at the throne of grace.

The analogy of Bob Hope entertaining troops during non-combat periods versus the need for chaplains and surgeons during wartime is used to illustrate the difference between entertainment-driven worship and worship that prepares soldiers for spiritual battle.

If no soldiers are perishing, what you want on Sunday is Bob Hope and some pretty girls. You see what he's alluding to? During the war, in the period of non-combat, Bob Hope would go over with a troupe of pretty girls. He would tell jokes, and the girls would bounce around on the stage and sing and entertain the troops.

9:49 - 10:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how obedience to Hebrews 13:3 continually emphasizes the reality of the one universal church of Christ, which extends far beyond specific confessional standards or…

The Apostles' Creed is used as an example to explain the historical and theological meaning of 'holy Catholic church' as the universal church, not the Roman Catholic institution.

Now let me first of all explain what I mean by the words the one universal church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many of you are familiar with that ancient creed called the Apostles' Creed. It wasn't composed by the apostles. In various expressions, some say it goes all the way back to the second century, but in its present form, as you'll find it in the front of our Trinity hymnal, it can be traced back to the sixth century to the five hundreds a B and in that Apostles' Creed, these words occur.

12:06 - 12:43 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how obedience to Hebrews 13:3 continually emphasizes the reality of the one universal church of Christ, which extends far beyond specific confessional standards or…

A quote from the London Baptist Confession of Faith is used to further define the 'catholic or universal church' as the invisible body of all the elect, reinforcing the sermon's point about the breadth of Christ's church.

Listen to these words in the London Baptist Confession. The catholic or universal church, which with respect to the internal work of the spirit of truth and grace, may be called invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ, the head thereof, and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that fills all in all. Now, when I have asserted that obedience to Hebrews 13, 3, remembering those imprisoned, remembering our ill-treated brethren, will continually underscore for us and those who come among us, our belief in the one ...

15:23 - 16:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section argues that remembering the persecuted provides current, challenging, and encouraging examples of persevering faith, motivating believers to stand firm against…

The story of James Jeda, a nine-year-old Sudanese boy who witnessed his family's murder and was thrown into a fire for refusing to deny Christ, is used as a powerful contemporary example of persevering faith.

Here's the story. Here's the contemporary. James Jeda watched as the Islamic soldiers killed his mother, father, and four brothers and sisters. He was nine years old.

31:05 - 31:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Be willing to face opposition from siblings and friends when tempted to sin, standing firm as a Christian.

The historical account of Latimer encouraging Ridley at the stake with the 'light a candle' quote is used to illustrate past examples of martyrdom and inspire courage.

It is good and right to read Fox's Book of Martyrs, to read Faith Cook's Singing in the Fire, to read and reread the thrilling account of Latimer and Ridley. I've stood on that place in Oxford where these men were burned at the stake. And some of you will remember the account that Latimer is said to have encouraged his comrade Ridley at the stake with the words, Be of good comfort, Master Ridley. We shall this day light a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out.

35:09 - 35:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section argues that remembering the persecuted provides current, challenging, and encouraging examples of persevering faith, motivating believers to stand firm against…

The story of a Romanian woman whose prayer for specific-sized shoes and a sweater was answered during communist rule is used to illustrate God's faithfulness and to show how such stories build 'fiber' for martyrdom.

You don't make martyrs by feeding on pulp fiction and so-called Christian romance novels. You make martyrs when you read the lives of current day men and women who manifested this spirit of attachment to Jesus at any cost. You read Jim Elliot and it stirs you to the depths of your soul. You read a book my wife has just read and hopefully will make available to the church family, though probably not generally, in the church bookstore, called He Knows My Size, about a precious Romanian woman who, when she was struggling with her faith, when it was still under communist rule, does God really exis...

37:03 - 38:05 Read in full sermon

The point: As parents, take hold of what comes into the hands of your kids to read; put into their hands the stuff of which martyrs are made.

Professional athletes like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jason Giambi are used as negative examples of idols, arguing that their lives do not provide the 'stuff of martyrdom' needed for true Christian courage.

You see, girls, that's the stuff that will put the fiber in you to be a martyr if necessary. You guys, you're not going to get the stuff of martyrdom, making Kobe and Shaq your idols. Your idols and your models and Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin and tattooed big boys playing games, living like animals. Most of them, not all of them, but most of them.

38:19 - 38:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: However, now follow me closely, the true significance of any passage, any verse, any section, is often not truly understood and felt until our experience puts us into the text.

David's experience of misery due to unconfessed sin in Psalm 32 is used as an analogy to explain how personal experience of sin and its consequences can unlock a deeper, felt understanding of Scripture.

In Psalm 32, you've been having your devotions and you are reading through the Psalms and you come to Psalm 32 and you read that this is the Psalm that David most likely composed after Nathan the prophet came to him and he confessed his sin of adultery and murder, etc. You read these words, verse 3, when I kept silence, that is, I didn't confess my sin. My bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long. Day and night your hand was heavy upon me.

43:16 - 43:48 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that while Scripture is objectively God's Word, its true significance is often understood and felt only when personal or vicarious experience places us 'into the…

Martin shares his personal experience of praying for murdered Nigerian students and then reading Psalm 56, illustrating how vicarious experience of persecution can make passages about oppression 'leap off the page.'

Twelve of them murdered. Fifty of them seriously injured and put in the hospital for one reason. In a setting where there is aggressive Islamic prejudice against the Gospel, one of the students had received an honor who was a Christian. That very day, my psalm in my consecutive reading through the Psalms was Psalm 56.

46:54 - 47:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that while Scripture is objectively God's Word, its true significance is often understood and felt only when personal or vicarious experience places us 'into the…

A quote from a church member who found his reading of the Psalms 'revolutionized' by praying for persecuted brethren is used to support the idea that obedience to Hebrews 13:3 unlocks understanding of Scripture.

One of our members wrote me two weeks ago in terms of what he's experienced. I quote him, referring to some quotes from an author whose quotes, the quotes I'm going to mention briefly as well. He said, This has certainly been my experience. What has been my experience?

48:27 - 48:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that while Scripture is objectively God's Word, its true significance is often understood and felt only when personal or vicarious experience places us 'into the…

Quotes from a Catholic author are used to highlight how viewing Christianity as a global reality, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, reveals the Bible's emphasis on persecution and martyrdom, which is often overlooked in the Western church.

But many of our brothers and sisters are and God says, remember them. Remember them. There's a Catholic author who's written a book. One of his main theses is that the Western church, that he would call the church in the northern hemisphere, in contrast to the people of God in the southern hemisphere, he says some very perceptive things.

50:56 - 51:20 Read in full sermon