Randy Alcorn has written about the false expectations to which many followers of Jesus Christ might ascribe. Jesus always speaks truth and these expectations are false. We need to delete these expectations from our walk of faith.
Again, here is the list from Randy Alcorn (Six False Expectations that Diminish Our Happiness):
1.God’s love for us should look just like we want.
2.We won’t be persecuted for our faith.
3.Jesus must return in our lifetime.
4.Life will go smoothly and we will always have health and wealth.
5.Life will be fair and people will treat us kindly and thoughtfully.
6.Churches owe us better treatment than we’ve received.
Let’s zoom in on the second false expectation: We won’t be persecuted for our faith.
It should be obvious that this is a false expectation. Don’t you agree? After all, in his sermon on the mount, Jesus said,
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12, NIV)
According to Open Doors, more than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. In 2023, 4,998 Christians were killed for their faith. North Korea is the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. In China, last year, at least 10,000 churches were closed. Churches must display signs reading, “Love the Communist Party, love the country, love the religion.” Last year, 14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked.
I could go on and on, but I think you probably getting it: Christians are not exempt from persecution.
Now I don’t live in North Kore, China, Nigeria, or Ethiopia. I don’t experience persecution the way our 365 million brothers and sisters around the world experience.
But who knows what the future might be? The second century church father, Tertullian stated, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
Randy Alcorn writes,
“In spite of multiple promises of suffering throughout Scripture, many Christians seem shocked or outraged when they have to face these trials. Americans have been slow to accept the extent to which Bible-believing Christ-followers have become socially unacceptable. Though we should work to hold on to our religious liberties, it’s likely they’ll continue to erode. But cheer up! Opposition is nothing new for God’s people, and historically the church’s greatest advances have come at the lowest ebb of its popularity.” (Six False Expectations that Diminish Our Happiness)
Our goal is not to be accepted by the culture or be popular in the culture. As the apostle Paul wrote, “we preach Christ, and him crucified.” As we shared last time, Jesus has called us to carry the cross and suffer for his name.
G. W. Kitchin wrote the words to this hymn in the 19th Century. May this be our aim as we follow our Lord:
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred name.
Come, Christians follow were our Savior trod.
Our King victorious, Christ the Son of God.
Again, here is the list from Randy Alcorn (Six False Expectations that Diminish Our Happiness):
1.God’s love for us should look just like we want.
2.We won’t be persecuted for our faith.
3.Jesus must return in our lifetime.
4.Life will go smoothly and we will always have health and wealth.
5.Life will be fair and people will treat us kindly and thoughtfully.
6.Churches owe us better treatment than we’ve received.
Let’s zoom in on the second false expectation: We won’t be persecuted for our faith.
It should be obvious that this is a false expectation. Don’t you agree? After all, in his sermon on the mount, Jesus said,
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12, NIV)
According to Open Doors, more than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. In 2023, 4,998 Christians were killed for their faith. North Korea is the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. In China, last year, at least 10,000 churches were closed. Churches must display signs reading, “Love the Communist Party, love the country, love the religion.” Last year, 14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked.
I could go on and on, but I think you probably getting it: Christians are not exempt from persecution.
Now I don’t live in North Kore, China, Nigeria, or Ethiopia. I don’t experience persecution the way our 365 million brothers and sisters around the world experience.
But who knows what the future might be? The second century church father, Tertullian stated, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
Randy Alcorn writes,
“In spite of multiple promises of suffering throughout Scripture, many Christians seem shocked or outraged when they have to face these trials. Americans have been slow to accept the extent to which Bible-believing Christ-followers have become socially unacceptable. Though we should work to hold on to our religious liberties, it’s likely they’ll continue to erode. But cheer up! Opposition is nothing new for God’s people, and historically the church’s greatest advances have come at the lowest ebb of its popularity.” (Six False Expectations that Diminish Our Happiness)
Our goal is not to be accepted by the culture or be popular in the culture. As the apostle Paul wrote, “we preach Christ, and him crucified.” As we shared last time, Jesus has called us to carry the cross and suffer for his name.
G. W. Kitchin wrote the words to this hymn in the 19th Century. May this be our aim as we follow our Lord:
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred name.
Come, Christians follow were our Savior trod.
Our King victorious, Christ the Son of God.
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