Christianity is suffering tribulation today even if we as individuals feel unaffected by it. We need to be one with our fellow Christians who are suffering and be praying for them. Let us not be fearful of what satan might do to us, because Christ defeated him at the cross. Even if we must face death ourselves, we overcome satan by simply exercising Christ’s victory.
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Show Notes:
The Lord said to the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty.” Just as God knew then what the Christians in Smyrna were suffering, He is aware of what Christians are suffering today. And there are many Christians today who live under tribulation and endure great poverty. These are not people with whom we have no connection. They are fellow members of the Body of Christ with whom we are one. We should be aware of their suffering and be crying out to God for them.
According to Open Doors, a group that ministers to persecuted Christians, more than 380 million Christians worldwide suffer persecution and discrimination. This is the reality surrounding all of us in Christianity right now. We should be aware of it, and we should be prepared for however God would lead us. The Lord said to Smyrna, “Do not fear. … Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” We should not be fearful even if it means giving our lives for Christ, just as many believers are doing today.
Maybe you believe in the Rapture and are planning to escape tribulation. That does not change the fact that many Christians are now in tribulation, experiencing hunger, imprisonment, and even death for His sake. We should remove any fear from our hearts and refuse to be separated from the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us deliberately study and become aware of what is really transpiring in Christianity throughout the world we live in. We need to be interceding for the Body of Christ in this day.
Key Verses:
- Revelation 2:8–11. “I know your tribulation and your poverty.”
- Revelation 12:9–12. “They did not love their life even when faced with death.”
- Romans 16:20. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
Quotes:
- “Even if you say, ‘Well, I am not suffering,’ be aware that your brothers and sisters are suffering potentially great tribulations and also poverty.”
- “We need to reach in for a faith before the Lord that gives us a freedom from fear and allows us to recognize that satan is on the earth raging. And he is casting believers into prison, and people are being tested in their faith, and there will be tribulations that come.”
- “As believers in this day and age facing the raging of satan in the earth in this time, we must not be fearful. We must not love our lives unto death. And we must be ready to sacrifice and give our life if that is what is necessary because this battle will rage. But we know that the battle will be won because it has already been won on the cross.”
Takeaways:
- Much of the Body of Christ today lives in the midst of tribulation and poverty. We need to put some time into studying what is happening to believers throughout the world, become aware of what they are suffering, and intercede for them.
- As Christians there is no guarantee that we will escape tribulation. Many Christians are already suffering from satan’s raging and it could happen to any of us. The Lord told the church in Smyrna not to be fearful. And we should ask the Lord to remove any fearfulness from our hearts.
- Those who overcame satan loved not their lives even when faced with death. Even if we die in this war with satan, we have the promise of the crown of life and freedom from the second death. So we exercise Christ’s victory over death and become those who cast satan from this earth.
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