Text:\u00a0 Hebrews 13: 1-3<\/p>\n
Today we remember there is a day to come.\u00a0 We are one day closer than we were yesterday.\u00a0 The Old and New Testament point to it.\u00a0 The Day of the Lord.\u00a0 Judgment Day when everyone who lives or who\u2019s ever lived will have to stand before God\u2019s Son.<\/p>\n
What will the Lord say to us? We know what we deserve to hear.\u00a0 Get out of my sight forever<\/em>.\u00a0 But something has changed that.\u00a0 SomeONE has changed that. Jesus whose name means, The Lord saves.\u00a0 In Him, that Day will bring us a much different Judgment.\u00a0 In Christ, we have crossed over from death to life.<\/p>\n But Jesus tells us while we wait for that day, everything is not going to be happy, happy, joy, joy for us.\u00a0 In fact, sometimes it\u2019s going to be downright tough.\u00a0 In this world, you will have trouble.<\/span> Jesus said. \u00a0Well one of those troubles that can come and will come to Christians is persecution.<\/p>\n For us in the United States, persecution might take the form of an insult.\u00a0 Someone might avoid us because they think Christians are strange or intolerant.\u00a0 For us persecution usually means not much more that getting our feelings hurt.\u00a0 \u00a0But if you stick your head up and look around at the rest of the world, persecution often looks a lot different.<\/p>\n Her name is Asia Bibi.\u00a0 Asia is a poor Pakistani Christian, a wife and mother of five children who would work out in the field. Asia is in jail under a death sentence.\u00a0 She has been there for four years \u00a0awaiting an appeal.\u00a0 And why is she there?\u00a0 Someone falsely accused her of mocking the prophet Muhammed when she defended her faith with these words.\u00a0 Our Christ is alive.<\/em>\u00a0 And for that in Pakistan, you can be put to death. It\u2019s called a blasphemy law and it\u2019s a convenient way to oppress religious minorities.<\/p>\n I wish I could say that Asia is an exception in this world of ours.\u00a0 But she is not.\u00a0 The persecution of Christians is more widespread than we might realize and more severe.\u00a0 Some have estimated that more Christians have died in our time than did in the days of the Roman empire.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where this Word of God points us today.\u00a0 To have a heart for those suffering for their faith in Jesus.\u00a0 And I have to admit I haven\u2019t done a very good job of encouraging you in this way.\u00a0 I repent of that.\u00a0 For God\u2019s Word urges us<\/p>\n Remember those persecuted \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think we Christians in America have a harder time appreciating it.\u00a0 We\u2019re so accustomed to thinking and acting like individuals.\u00a0 We forget that we have been brought together in a very special relationship.\u00a0 Think of this Word.\u00a0 But now in Christ, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ<\/span>\u00a0 (Eph 2:13)\u00a0 There was a time when our sins put a deadly distance between us and God. We were without God and without hope.\u00a0 But God has brought us near.\u00a0 How?\u00a0 What do we sing?\u00a0 Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me<\/em>.\u00a0 Jesus took away our guilt that so offended God \u00a0and brought us near.<\/p>\n How near?\u00a0 Listen to the apostle John who can hardly contain himself.\u00a0 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God and that is what we are!<\/span> (1Jn3:1) Listen to Paul in Galatians:\u00a0 You are all sons [children] of God through faith in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 (3:26<\/span>)\u00a0 So yes, we were far away from God, but he\u2019s brought us near.\u00a0 He\u2019s made us family, his family.<\/p>\n And as family this is what owe one another.\u00a0 Keep on loving each other as brothers.<\/span>\u00a0 Of course. For some of us that picture of me and my brother or sister doesn\u2019t look too loving.\u00a0 We may have pounded on each other when we were young. \u00a0So here\u2019s a different picture for us brothers and sisters in Christ:\u00a0 What Jesus said: Love one another as I have loved you.<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0As Jesus loved you and me.\u00a0 We owe that love to our family in Christ.<\/p>\n But who is my family? \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s easy to think of our church family here and those in our Synod, those who believe as we do.\u00a0 But here\u2019s where we can get the wrong idea.\u00a0 When we think about those Christians who carry a different label and have some different teachings we believe are wrong.\u00a0 We may not take communion with them, but understand they are family too.\u00a0 Our family, brothers and sisters in Christ.\u00a0 So we owe them our love.\u00a0 And that especially goes for Christians like Asia there in prison.\u00a0 We can\u2019t just write them off and forget about them. We are to remember those persecuted with the love we owe them.<\/strong><\/p>\n Back in Bible times, Christians would sometimes be driven out of their homes, even out of their towns.\u00a0 We hear about that kind of thing from time to time in Pakistan or India or the Sudan.\u00a0 Christians become refugees with no place to go.\u00a0 They are on the road.\u00a0 So just imagine you live there and they come to your door.\u00a0 That\u2019s what this Word is talking about when it says:\u00a0 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers<\/span> (ESV) That person might be a stranger to you or me.\u00a0 But he or she or they are family, family in Christ.\u00a0 They are family members suffering persecution.\u00a0 We owe them our love. Remember those persecuted.<\/strong><\/p>\n Well what\u2019s that look like when most of these folks are 1000\u2019s of miles away?\u00a0 To remember them can mean any number of things.\u00a0 But here God\u2019s Word again begins with our hearts.\u00a0 Remember those persecuted as if you were suffering<\/strong><\/p>\n 3 <\/sup>Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering<\/span>. Think of Asia Bibi.\u00a0 Day after day she sits in her small cell.\u00a0 Visits are limited.\u00a0 She is isolated because radical Muslims have vowed to murder her in the prison and certainly if she is released.<\/p>\n To remember Asia and others like her means more than having a passing thought.\u00a0 It means more than shaking our heads and saying oh, that\u2019s too bad.<\/em> It means picturing ourselves there in her cell under the same sentence.\u00a0 Remember those persecuted as if you were suffering.<\/strong><\/p>\n As if you were Godwin Vincent<\/strong> of Nigeria.\u00a0 His picture is on the cover of this magazine.\u00a0 Make sure you take one.\u00a0 He is holding his pen while reading his Bible.\u00a0 But you can\u2019t help but notice that Godwin is holding that pen with an artificial arm.\u00a0 That\u2019s because about 18 months ago, Godwin was on his way to the grocery store.\u00a0 A mob attacked him because some knew he was a Christian.\u00a0 When he raised his arm to protect his face\u2026 well you can imagine what happened.\u00a0 Here God calls on us to put ourselves in \u00a0brother Godwin\u2019s shoes.\u00a0 Remember those persecuted as if you were suffering.<\/strong><\/p>\n As if it was your church that was burned to the ground.\u00a0 In Pakistan, there was a Lutheran church that stood for 92 years.\u00a0 There also was a High School and a pastor\u2019s residence.\u00a0 A few days after this past 9-11, a mob came and set the church and the rest ablaze.\u00a0 The pastor and others were powerless to stop them.\u00a0 Imagine that was your church and there is no insurance against acts of terrorism.\u00a0 Remember those persecuted as if you were suffering.<\/strong><\/p>\n But what does it mean to remember?\u00a0 I shouldn\u2019t have to tell anyone.\u00a0 A Christian heart knows without saying.\u00a0 It means to remember our persecuted brothers and sisters in prayer and help them as we can.\u00a0 Think about it. You and I value each other\u2019s prayers.\u00a0 When I went into the hospital, I knew you were praying for me. \u00a0Thank you for that.<\/p>\n Well when you read about these suffering Christians, you hear it again and again.\u00a0 They treasure our prayers.\u00a0 For they know what God promises in his Word.\u00a0 The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.<\/span>\u00a0 (James 5:16)\u00a0 These folks are so thankful for our prayers for strength and protection.<\/p>\n In fact, in the magazine there is a poster of the world which asks: Will you pray<\/strong> and then shows us the many countries where Christians are harassed, imprisoned, killed or deprived of their possessions. \u00a0Will you remember them in your prayers?<\/p>\n And of course, if we were suffering we\u2019d be looking for help.\u00a0 How can we help?\u00a0 Sometimes through our missionaries. We can write to our government and ask them to intervene.<\/p>\n But here I\u2019d like to suggest another organization.\u00a0 It\u2019s called the Voice of the Martyrs.\u00a0 They help in many ways.\u00a0 They are working for the release of Asia.\u00a0 And have succeeded with others.\u00a0 They paid for that artificial arm for Godwin.\u00a0 They get Bibles to Christians in places like China or Vietnam where Bibles are hard to come by and it can be hazardous to spread the gospel.<\/p>\n The Voice of the Martyrs.\u00a0 It is a story worth reading. It began with a Lutheran pastor who suffered years of torture and imprisonment by the communists in Rumania.\u00a0 During that time he led prisoners, even some guards to Christ. \u00a0Well Pastor Richard Wurmbrand started the Voice of the martyrs to help us Remember those persecuted.<\/strong><\/p>\n And it\u2019s our privilege to remember.\u00a0 It\u2019s our privilege in the Lord who remembered us when we were lost.\u00a0 It\u2019s our privilege to remember those persecuted, to pray for them and help them persevere.\u00a0 And here\u2019s the interesting thing.\u00a0 From a jail cell or a hospital room or a place where they are hated, they help us.\u00a0 By their faith that clings to Christ no matter what, they inspire us to do the same. So that when that day, the day of judgment comes, we will not be afraid.\u00a0 Instead we will forget all the sadness of this life \u00a0and praise our Lord \u00a0Jesus who remembered us and saved us to be his own.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Text:\u00a0 Hebrews 13: 1-3 Today we remember there is a day to come.\u00a0 We are one day closer than we were yesterday.\u00a0 The Old and New Testament point to it.\u00a0 The Day of the Lord.\u00a0 Judgment Day when everyone who lives or who\u2019s ever lived will have to stand before God\u2019s Son. What will the Lord say to us? 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\n<\/strong>I.\u00a0 With the love we owe them
\nII.\u00a0 As if you were suffering<\/p>\n