Acts 7:58-8:3
Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Acts 12:1-4
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

I’m sure the majority of us (in Britain and America) have seen the many videos of Christians being arrested in public for speaking out against ‘certain’ sins, as well as, entering cultured and religious events ‘disturbing the peace’ as it were. It is very concerning how Christian values are slowly but surely being diminished, particularly in our western cultures. None of us who profess faith in Christ should be apathetic to the ongoing decline of Christian influence. What really concerns me is where our priorities really are.

Some of these videos circulating on our public forums really discredit genuine Christian evangelism; for instance, the way in which some Christians parade their ‘freedom of speech’ bringing unnecessary dishonor to the Church’s attempt to reach the lost. Of course we are not just to sit back and allow evil in this world to take its course; but neither are we to go out of our way to unduly antagonize! I’ve watched some of these videos and I cringe at how some of these ‘evangelists’ really make a mess of things. We are not to go out with the motive to look for trouble. We are not to lack wisdom which is so apparent in some of these situations. Jesus said, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) And this passage is in context of persecution. Our lack of wisdom and our own stupidity can bring harm to us that is contrary to God’s will (1 Peter 3:17); we aren’t to go ‘looking’ for persecution but should rightly discern the will of God in a given situation and if persecution follows, then so be it.

I question the motives of some of these people that parade around with their video cameras knowing full well they are walking into and expecting to find a hornets nest. I cannot help but come to the conclusion that they are not at these events to reach lost souls, but rather to see how far they can ‘push the boat’ – how much freedom do they have with their civil rights…oh, and God knows they are loving the attention and adrenalin rush. It’s more like a political acid test to see how far the Constitution of America has eroded! It is a diabolical reflection of how many professing Christians in America are more passionate about insisting upon their rights and freedoms instead of the cause of Christ. It is pure hypocrisy and a downright eye-opener to how Christ-less our evangelism has become.

The part that really fills me with absolute disgust, is when such ‘Christian’ people are arrested, escorted away, their recording equipment temporarily confiscated; and soon afterward, the arrested ‘victim’ creates a new video with the original incident footage claiming they are being discriminated against, or their rights are being violated or they’re even being persecuted – when in reality, they were intruding on others at events that they clearly had no affiliation with! No actual harm was done to them. Oops! Sorry, I forgot their ‘freedom’ was ‘violated’ for a few moments and as a result they can now claim to suffer emotional trauma for the duration of their lives. Are they serious? All I can say is, GROW UP – and I do mean, in Christ!

What unnecessary drama when you compare it to REAL persecution that goes on in other countries like North Korea where children have been publicly hanged as their parents refuse to renounce their faith in Jesus and in turn the parents are then physically crushed to death by heavy machinery; or in Pakistan where church leaders are brutally murdered, families massacred, villages burned, Christians who worship in their churches are suddenly interrupted by mobs and governing officials to meet with their deaths; in Africa where thousands are hacked to pieces, limb by limb, for confessing Jesus Christ. Voices that once sang with praises are silenced to rivers of blood. These realities are taking place right now in other parts of the world while thousands of Christians in America and Britain (while in their comfort zones) cry out because they feel ‘oppressed’! What child-play and utter nonsense; we ought to hang our heads in shame. Our whining resembles nothing but a kindergarten scenario in comparison to the brutality that prevails on other continents. I tell you, send out these ‘wanna-be’ Christians with their video cameras to where genuine Christianity is, but knowing that they may never retain their video footage – let alone their lives – and you’d have a different motive and reaction. It’s so easy to hide behind the aide of a lawyer with a guarantee of suing the offender; but go out and evangelize a lost, violent and barbaric race with the gospel of Jesus Christ knowing that you will lose everything (apart from spending eternity with God) and it will reveal ones ‘true colors’!

There will come a time when persecution REALLY hits this country and there will be no lawyers to defend, no government to fight for our rights and freedom; it will be ‘on your own’ and maybe for the first time in our lives, to trust God and rely on Him alone. Such times will really prove where our priorities lie; there will be no pretending then.

When the Church lives as she is meant to, she will not have to look for persecution, it will come knocking on her door. We saw in Acts 8:3 how Paul (formerly known as Saul) entered house after house, dragging off men and women and committing them to prison. We will not have to look for it or stir up trouble to experience it. Paul says, “Those who desire to live a godly life will suffer persecution.” Notice he says, live; it’s so easy to talk, but harder to walk. “But what about our rights and freedom of speech?” someone may ask. Well, what about them?! The lack of them will not even hinder or prevent the gospel from being proclaimed. The early Christians didn’t stop; the word of God spread even more. How does that measure up to our complaining? “What about our nation? What if it falls?” someone else may ask. If America falls, then so be it. America is NOT the kingdom of God – stop idolizing America! The gates of hell shall not prevail against the true Church. What kingdom are we focused on here? So many of us fall into the trap of equating nationalism with God’s kingdom; there are going to be thousands of disillusioned and disheartened Christians if this continues to be our perspective; a perspective that, Alas! thrives in this nation. If we are truly walking with God, then expect opposition – don’t be surprised by it! Expect to be hated and ill-treated; perhaps to even lose your life. Oh I’m sorry, we live in the 21st Century and times have ‘progressed’; this kind of talk is not appropriate to our politically advanced age. But it’s for this very reason I’m telling you that evangelical Christianity here in the USA is far from being prepared for the coming persecution; many professing Christians who have attended church and talked the talk for many years will fall away – choosing a comfortable and materialistic lifestyle over losing ones life for true faith in Christ.

This nation has had plenty of decades of liberty and freedom, so much so that society reeks of complacency. Those years have been squandered and wasted to our shame. We had freedom of speech more than we could dream. We’ve had years to impact this nation with the true gospel of Jesus Christ and in turn we’ve peddled a god of our minds – not proclaimed the God of the Bible; we’ve merchandised the ‘golden calf’ and had our churches filled with idolatrous worship; we’ve made a ‘Holy-wood’ out of our leaders and created shameful acts of entertainment: the world rates it – while God hates it!

As I’ve mentioned before, we moan because a national day of prayer is opposed and prayer is removed from schools – but we don’t even pray in our homes! The Ten Commandments are removed from public institutions – while professing Christians don’t obey them in private! God doesn’t care about what’s been taken down – they have been taken down because we don’t obey God anyway! Can’t we see through the hypocrisy? We just don’t take God seriously. If we did, this nation would be significantly different to what it is now. We’ve had hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities to make a difference and we’ve wasted them on self-absorbed, materialistic living and now the doors are closing in; our rights are being slowly taken away.

The shocking reality is, we’ve always moaned in the days of our greatest freedom and hardly cared less about the kingdom of God then, so what makes us think that we are now? If we’re honest we’ll admit to the fact that what we’re really afraid of losing is our rights that will bring an end to a self-centered, easy and comfortable lifestyle. We’re so fearful of losing our so-called ‘freedom’. Those that are suffering horribly in prison for their faith right now – preparing to face death at any moment – know freedom in ways that you and I have never even dreamed. The majority of us don’t know the meaning of freedom because we’re so self-orientated, but these prisoners do. Their faith is real and dynamic; they don’t love their lives even unto death, for the love of God constrains them – oh, how this should put us ALL to shame!

I’ll finish with this: many of us are disturbed at the sudden changes in government that will inevitably effect our ‘freedom’, we see the changes already taking place – WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THE LIBERTIES WE STILL HAVE, because I’m convinced that those who are in prison about to die would give anything to have the freedom that you and I still have to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It’s our call.