They Hated a Godly Man: Lazarus

 Temple Baptist Church - 11-22-2023

John 12:9-11

 

Introduction:

 

A.  In the preceding verses, we saw the restoration of three people that the Lord loved very much.  I am glad that God will not leave you in the aftermath of great hardship but will continue to make you better instead of allowing you to get bitter.

 

B.  I came back to this portion of Scripture for a reason. 

 

1.  There will come times when, as a saint of God, you will be persecuted without cause.  In our text, I always find this to be an amazing thing when religious people hate saved people without a cause. 

 

2.  When I say, without a cause, then the cause becomes evident.  Without a cause because God’s people are good people and good citizens.  The cause of their hate is that they hate God and especially the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation.

 

C.  We find early in the Bible the First Mention of such anger and hatred.  Wicked people who hate the Lord cannot take their ire out on Him, so they choose to do injury to the Lord’s people who love Him.

 

1.  In Genesis, chapter 4, we find the story of Cain and Abel.  Righteous Abel verses the “way of Cain.”  In the First Mention of the wicked destroying the righteous, I see several things that apply to the story of Lazarus. 

 

2.  Both Abel and Lazarus were Righteous people.  All they did was obey and love the Lord in biblical silence.  Neither did nor did they say anything offensive.

 

Hebrews 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

 

Matthew 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

 

3.  Both Cain and the chief priests were wicked.

 

Jude 10-13  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.  (11)  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.  (12)  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;  (13)  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

 

4.  Both Abel and Lazarus were persecuted for who they were more than for what they did.  Cain was put to death and Lazarus was under a false indictment of death.

 

5.  Both Cain and the Chief Priests were VERY wroth (furious, incensed, to blaze up) with God because of their personal rejection of the sacrifice that God demanded.  This was a baseless, unreasonable anger that spelled hatred for both God and God’s way while continuing in their rebellion by killing Abel and threatening Lazarus.

 

D.  Why persecute Lazarus?  He was not persecuted for what he did, but for who he was.

 

E. We that are saved are slowly becoming the enemy of the state.

 

1.   I am not speaking of religion which allows one to live as they like and continue to feel good about themselves spiritually in disobedience to the Word of God.

 

2.  I am speaking of those who have been converted, turned around, through repentance and faith in a finished work called the Gospel.

 

3.  They know who we are and do not like what we have become, out of step with society which continues to decline, because Jesus Christ was such.

 

F.  Why persecution?  Why Lazarus?  Why God’s people?  I want to tie these three questions together because this has not changed since Cain and Abel.

 

John 12:10-11  But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; (11) Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

 

2 Timothy 3:10-13  But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,  (11)  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.  (12)  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  (13)  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

 

1.  These “chief priests” persecuted an innocent man! 

 

a.  I find no fault in this man that would cause any sane person to want him killed.  There is nothing recorded that Lazarus ever spoke or did that was wrong. 

 

b.  All that Lazarus did was love the Lord and open his home and life to Him. 

 

c.  If we live godly, we shall suffer persecution!

 

d.  To avoid persecution, all a child of God has to do is “hide in plain sight” by living at a guilty distance from the Lord.

 

2.  These “chief priests” who wanted Lazarus dead were not sane people.  These religious zealots hated a man who was righteous because of what the Lord had done for him.

 

a.  It was not Lazarus’ fault that he got sick and died.  I am sure that Lazarus would have been perfectly happy to die once and spend his eternity with the Lord without having to come back to this old sinful world and go through the process of dying again at a later date.

 

b.  It was not Lazarus’ fault that the Lord chose to resurrect him from death and the grave.

 

c.  They hated Lazarus without a cause.  Like Job, Lazarus was just the “man caught in the middle.” 

 

3.  These chief priests hate Lazarus because of what the Lord had done.  “Because that by reason of him”

 

a.  The Lord did a wonderful thing for Lazarus that should have made everyone glad.  Proof that our Lord had resurrection power and that there was life after death.

 

b.  There are going to be times when you will be persecuted simply because the Lord did a wonderful thing for you when He saved your soul.

 

c.  Though not perfect in the flesh, those who choose to live a godly life expose the ungodliness of the unsaved.

 

John 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

 

4.  Lazarus was persecuted because these “chief priests” hated our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

John 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

 

1 John 3:13  Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

 

1 John 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

 

5.  Rejoice when men hate you for who you have become and be good to them.

 

Luke 6:22-23  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.  (23)  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

 

Luke 6:27-28  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,  (28)  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

 

Drunken With The Blood Of The Saints

 Temple Baptist Church - 10-17-2021

Revelation 17:6

 

A.  As we continue to look at and identify the end-time religion called "The Great Whore … MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," we come to verse 6 and its description of this anti-God, anti-Bible system that will come to be accepted by those on earth during the Tribulation Period: called Jacob's Trouble or Daniel's Seventieth Week. 

 

B.  Anyone with spiritual discernment can come to a right conclusion by simply reading Revelation, chapter 17, with an open mind.  Not a mind blinded to the Word of God by religion; not a mind blinded to the Word of God by Satan; but a mind that reads what the Bible says and accepts it.

 

C.  This religious system is an extension of Babylon the Great.  A system that has systematically martyred the people of God from the beginning.  I say from the beginning because Cain killed Abel.  Cain killed Abel because Abel's words were righteous, and Cain's works were of the flesh.

 

D.  All seven world powers have been anti-God and persecuted God's people.  In the Old Testament, they persecuted and fought against Israel.  In the New Testament, they persecuted the Church as well as Israel.  Most of the persecution has been covered up as history is constantly being re-written to make the end-time religious system of good repute.  There is an old saying: "History is always written by the survivors."  A good example is the Holocaust that took place in Germany during WWII.  Adolf Hitler, a Roman Catholic, was often seen with Cardinals and priests when he spoke in public. 

 

E.  I want to look at the persecution of God's people by Rome and then by the Roman Church.

 

F.  Rome:  the last world power of Rome conquered Israel in 63 BC.  They ruled Israel with a strong hand and in a very cruel manner.  In the early days of the New Testament Church, their persecution centered upon the believers as they followed Christ.  I will not spend a lot of time here but will give you some historical information on the persecution.  Here is the "short list" of persecutions that occurred during Rome's power against the Church:

 

1.  From 30 A.D.-100 A.D. During the years of the Apostles, persecution was normally sporadic and directed more at individuals.  Things were rapidly changing after the death of the apostles.

 

2.  107 A.D. - Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy.

 

3.  110 A.D. – In a letter to the Christians in Rome, Ignatius asked them not to try to stop his martyrdom. “The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.”  Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus in Rome. 

 

4.  112 A.D. - The first organized persecution, which brought Christians into the courts as defendants, took place in Bithynia during the governorship of Pliny the Younger.  When someone informed on a Christian, Pliny brought the Christian before his tribunal and asked him whether he was a Christian and was given three opportunities to renounce Christ.  If he still admitted the charge after three such questions, he was sentenced to death.

 

5.  155 A.D. - Another persecution took place at Smyrna about the middle of the second century. It was at this time that Polycarp (6 A.D.-155 A.D.), bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of John the Beloved, was martyred as an enraged mob brought the Christians before the authorities.  He was bound, burned, and then stabbed when the fire failed to consume him.

 

6.  165 A.D.- Justin Martyr (100 A.D.-165 A.D.) was one of the early Apologists.  In the early days of the church, we will look at two groups of men: Apologists and Polemicists.  Apologists were writers who stood for the truth of God’s Word and wrote “Apologies” or explanation of doctrine.  Polemicists (comes from the word polemic, which means to attack or fiery rhetoric) who were powerful “hell and damnation” preachers of the day.  Justin Martyr, the great apologetic writer, suffered martyrdom in Rome because of his writings.

 

7.  180 A.D. - Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, writes the apology Against Heresies.

 

8.  196 A.D. - Tertullian begins writing.  Tertullian is the author of many apologetic and theological works and is one of the most quotable of the Early Church Fathers. His is the famous phrase "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

 

9.  230 A.D. - Earliest known public churches built.  This is of major interest.  In both the Old and New Testaments, the Tabernacle, Temples, Synagogues, and Local Churches were NOT OPEN to the public.  The local church is not a public place.  It is a place where God’s people assemble for worship, teaching, and fellowship!

 

10.  249-251 A.D. – Great persecution took place under Decius when he was emperor of Rome.

 

11.  250 A.D. - Decius issued an edict in 250 that demanded, at the least, an annual offering of sacrifice at the Roman altars to the gods and the genius of the emperor. Everyone was commanded to come to Rome once a year and sacrifice to the Roman gods.  Those who offered such sacrifices were given a certificate called a libellus.

 

Libelous - A libellus (plural libelli) in the Roman Empire was any brief document written on individual pages (as opposed to scrolls or tablets), particularly official documents issued by governmental authorities.

 

12.  303 A.D. - “Great Persecution” begins under Diocletian and lasted until 313 A.D.  Diocletian ordered the cessation of meetings of the Christians, the destruction of the churches, the deposition of officers of the church, the imprisonment of those who persisted in their testimony to Christ, and the destruction of the Scriptures by fire.

 

13.  306 A.D. – 337 A.D. - Constantine the Great became the Emperor of Rome.

 

14.  312 A.D. - Constantine is said to have seen a cross in the sky with the Latin words for “in this sign conquer” before the battle at Milvian Bridge near Rome in 312. He won the battle.  Constantine supposedly converted to Christianity in 312 A.D.

 

15.  313 A.D. - The Edict of Milan.  Constantine the Great granted freedom of worship, ending the persecution of the Christians.

 

G.  The passing of the "baton of persecution" from political Rome to religious Rome.

 

1.  325 A.D. - The Council of Nicaea.  The First Council of Nicaea ( / naɪˈsiːə /; Greek: Νίκαια [ˈnikεa]) was a council of "Christian" bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all Christendom.  This "council" was the official beginnings of the Roman Church, an extension of Rome.  The Roman Emperor called for the council and oversaw it.

 

2.  For the next 1260 years, under the reign of the Papal Church of Rome, an estimated 50,000,000+ Christians were persecuted and killed because they refused to bow to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church!  A fact well documented as well as one well covered over.  This persecution will be reinstated in the Tribulation Period when the mark of the beast is implemented and enforced.

 

St. Bartholomew's Massacre – 1572 – over a period of a few weeks, Roman Catholics killed an estimated 30,000 Protestants in Paris.  Great books to read are "Fox's Book of Martyrs" and "Trail of Blood."

 

The researcher David B Barrett puts the number of Christians martyred since the time of Jesus at 70 million.

 

It puts the number of Christians systematically exterminated in Nazi Germany at a million, while the number of Orthodox Christians and others murdered in Russia between 1917 and 1950 at 15 million.

 

H.  The end-time religious system, the Roman Catholic Church, is an extension of Rome and is "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." 

 

J.  The Jesuit Priesthood.  Founded in 1540 by the Spaniard Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556). In 1553,  the Jesuit Constitutions, written by Ignatius, were adopted, which created a centralized organization and stressed acceptance of any mission to which the pope might call them. His main principle became the unofficial Jesuit motto: Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam ("For the greater glory of God").  The Jesuit Priests were the instrument of Counter-Reformation and the enforcers of the Roman Church.

 

K.  The Jesuit Priesthood became a powerful force within the Roman Church.  There are at least 29 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States today.

 

Boston College, Canisius College, College of the HOLY Cross, Creighton University, Fairfield University, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University, John Carroll University, Le Moyne College, Loyola Marymount University, Loyola University-Chicago, Loyola University-Maryland, Loyola University-New Orleans, Marquette University, Regis University, Rockhurst University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Peter's University, Saint Louis University, Santa Clara University, Seattle University, Spring Hill College, University of Detroit Mercy, University of San Francisco, University of Scranton, Xavier University, Boston College School of Theology, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University.

 

L.  The Roman Church, started in 325 A.D. by Constantine—a heathen Roman Emperor—became the persecuting, killing arm of Roman Empire: Babylon the Great.

During the Tribulation Period, tens of millions will once again die for their faith.

 

The Valley Of Persecution

Temple Baptist Church - 4-19-2020

2 Timothy 3:10-12

Introduction: 

A.  I have said many times in the past that I thank god every day for America.  We, as God’s children and an independent Baptist church, have always had freedom to assemble and worship God without fear of reprisal.  America was founded by people fleeing other countries and continents in search of religious freedom and found it here!

B.  Over the past 2-3 months, America got a taste of religious persecution because of the “COVID-19 Crisis.”  Churches were forced to close their doors to public worship services and those who dared to keep the church doors open were arrested, fined, or threatened with quarantine.  For the first time in my 71 years, I have now seen the persecution of those who would dare to biblically assemble for worship.  What a sad day in American history!

1.  America got a taste of religious persecution this past month or so because of the “COVID-19 Crisis.”  Churches were asked not to assemble and, in many places, forced to close with many who attended church services arrested, fined, or threatened with quarantine.  “Snitch Lines” were established in many places so that neighbors or people driving by could report anyone breaking the “law” of “three are gathered together.”

2.  The government, for the most part, deeming the assembly of the local church as non-essential and therefore attempting to ban its public assembly.  Walmart was labeled essential, grocery stores were essential, fast food restaurants were essential, hardware stores were essential, liquor stores were essential, abortion “baby killing mills” were essential, and the list could go on, but God’s House was labeled as non-essential.

a)  So many churches acquiesced to the demands of government from day one because of mis-information campaigns and fear of reprisal!

b)  I have heard some quote these verses of Scripture concerning obedience to government.

1 Peter 2:13-15  Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;  (14)  Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.  (15)  For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

c)  God’s people are to obey every ordinances of man until such ordinances contradict the ordinances of God! 

1)  In Acts 5:41-42, we see their disobedience to the demands of government. 

Acts 5:41-42  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.  (42)  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

2)  In Acts 5:29, we find their obedience to God when man’s laws are contradictory to God’s laws.

Acts 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

d)  The government’s “shut down” of the assembly of the local churches is contradictory to God’s command of not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.

Hebrews 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching!” 

e)  The government’s “shut down” of the assembly of the local churches is also contrary to the First Amendment!

First Amendment:  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” 

f)  I am not “knocking” churches that have called off their assembly as that is between them and God, but nothing can replace the assembly of the saints.  What local churches do is up to them and none of my business.  I am preaching to Temple Baptist Church this morning!  We have chosen to assemble.

“The difference between listening to a radio sermon and going to church…is almost like the difference between calling your girl on the phone and spending an evening with her.” ~ Anonymous 

g) Live Video is good but not the assembly of the local church!  I thank God for the ability to put our services online, but many older people do not have computers or Facebook, etc., therefore they are left out.  There is no fellowship of the saints of exhorting one another.

h) Parking Lot Services with people sitting in automobiles are good but not the biblical assembly of the local church!  The new phrase we hear is “social distancing.”  This phrase comprises an oxymoron.  An oxymoron is a word or group of words that is self-contradicting.  Social is the interaction of people while distancing is isolation from people.

Social - adjective:  description; relating to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations; a social club;  seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious; of, relating to, connected with, or suited to polite or fashionable society; a social event; living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation:

Distancing - verb (used with object), action; distanced, distancing; to leave behind at a distance, as at a race; surpass; to place at a distance.

i)  Thus, separation of church and state was breached and will eventually finds itself standing on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States for adjudication. 

j)  I am glad that Moses’ parents chose to disobey man’s law by hiding him; I am glad that the three Hebrew children chose to disobey man’s law and it costs them a fiery furnace; I am glad that Daniel chose to disobey man’s law, opened his windows publicly and prayed 3 times a day as before, ending up in a lion’s den; I am glad that the Old Testament prophets chose to disobey, went to prison and died because they chose God’s law over man’s law; I am glad that the New Testament Apostles and saints chose to be imprisoned with many died for the same reason.  Read chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews!

Revelation 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

C.  I believe that we have seen the beginning as other “Crises” will appear in the future.  Persecution for righteousness sake has always been a way of life to those who would dare to live godly in Christ Jesus while honoring the Word of God.  This continues to be the problem and the persecution righteous people continues to this day.  God’s people need to understand why they are being persecuted and how to react to it. 

1.  Why Are God’s People So Persecuted?

a.  God’s People Are Persecuted Because The World Hated Christ!   John 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

b.  God’s People Are Persecuted Because Are God’s Children!  Matthew 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

c.  God’s People Are Persecuted Because They Live Godly!  2 Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2.  Who Are Those Who So Greatly Persecute God’s People?

a.  God’s People Are Now Persecuted By Government – Acts 5:40-42  And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  (41)  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.  (42)  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

b.  God’s People Are Persecuted By Family - Matthew 10:32-39  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

c.  God’s People Are Persecuted By Former Friends - Psalms 41:9  Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. 

Psalms 55:12-14  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

Psalms 55:20-21  He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.  The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

Job 19:19  All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.

Jeremiah 20:10  For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

d.  God’s People Are Persecuted By The Religious Lost - Acts 9:1-2  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,  (2)  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

(They hate you because salvation exposes religion for what it is!)

Galatians 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Acts 9:1-2  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

1 Thessalonians 2:15  Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

Galatians 5:11  And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

Galatians 6:12  As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

e.  God’s People Are Persecuted By The Liberal Left - Jeremiah 6:15-16  Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.  (It is interesting that liberalism is not found in the Bible.  There is a difference between ignorance and liberalism!  Ignorance means that someone has not been taught.  “Everyone is ignorant, just in different areas!”  God equates liberalism with being lost!)

Ezekiel 22:23-26  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.  There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.  Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

3.  How Are God’s People To React To Persecution?

a.  Learn To Bear The Cross Of Christ - Luke 14:26-27  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (Cross – to establish, to stand, to set in place; an instrument of death; an instrument of prominent reproach)

Hebrews 13:12-13  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

1 Corinthians 4:12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

1 Corinthians 4:12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

b.  Learn To Love Your Enemies - Matthew 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (They are simply lost and we should have a burden for their eternal souls.)

Romans 12:20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

c.  Learn That Persecution Is For Christ’s Sake - Luke 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.  (They hate Who and what you stand for and not who you are.)

d.  Learn That Christ Will Abide With You And Help You - 2 Corinthians 4:8-11  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.  (The Lord will stand with and for you – 3 Hebrew children, Daniel, Peter, Paul, etc.)

2 Timothy 4:17  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

e.  Learn That The Lord Will Bless You For Suffering For And With Him - Romans 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint–heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  (It lets you know what side you are on and lets them know what side they are on.)

Matthew 5:10-12  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

f.  Learn To Rejoice And Give Thanks For All Things - 1 Peter 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.  (This means that you are just like Him.  Glory to God!)

2 Corinthians 7:4  Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.