Don't be intimidated by opposition!

We shouldn’t be surprised when people attack us for preaching the Gospel. They attacked Jesus, they attacked Paul and also persecuted the Early Church. Don’t expect things to be fair. Expect things to be dirty. Expect to have your words twisted, to be lied about, intimidated, ganged up on. Expect people to try and cancel you, take you to court, shut you up and shut you down. Don’t expect people to play by the rules, to be reasonable, to respond in kind to your decency and civility. If you are preaching what Jesus and Paul and the Early Church preached then don’t expect to be treated any different than they were. And that’s ok! We’re not here to politely advance the Kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness. We’re in a war for the souls of people.

The goal is not to have the world like us and approve of everything we say. We’re not trying to be palatable or acceptable. We’re here to call rebel planet earth to repentance, surrender and to the obedience of faith towards the King of kings.

Yes, we want to be as loving and kind as possible as we reach out to lost humanity. We don’t want to be unnecessarily offensive, provocative or indifferent but we also don’t want to compromise the truth in order to not offend or provoke or disturb anyone. The Gospel is offensive and the devil hates it because it sets people free!

We just have to accept that persecution comes with the territory. It will come from every angle. It will hurt. We will be tempted to shrink back or water down or just go with the flow. But the flow is taking people to hell. So we need to toughen up, become thicker skinned, accept that we’ll be opposed, be ok with people disagreeing and being angry with us, prepared for backlash, attacks, law suits, smear campaigns, death threats and worse.

Jesus, Paul and the apostles were all prepared to die for the Gospel and they literally did!

This life is not a pleasure cruise on its way to heaven, its a battleship stationed at the jaws of hell!

Soldiers are prepared for discomfort and pain because they believe in the cause they fight for – freedom. We believe in the cause of souls being set free and delivered from darkness and coming into the Kingdom.

Athletes are prepared for discomfort and pain to win a great award, we do it for a crown that is eternal – souls.

Farmers are prepared for discomfort, pain, heat, blisters and dirt as they tirelessly work the land and even endure through the mundane seasons when things don’t seem fruitful, all because they are compelled by the hope of a great harvest!

You’re going to face opposition! Don’t be discouraged, disillusioned, disheartened or distracted. Don’t be surprised, shocked, caught off guard, offended or intimidated at the bullets flying at you, at the ambushes, set ups, deceptive tactics and unrelenting assaults. It’s all part of being a true follower of Christ. Stands your ground! Fight and push forward. We are part of a larger army all across the world that includes many amazing believers, mighty waring angels with Christ Jesus Himself as the champion, the chief, the captain and great commander. And no matter what happens, in the end – WE WIN!

The only questions are “will you run your race and fulfil your destiny, and how many people will you take with you?”

Why should believers never be surprised by opposition? Because it’s ALL right here in the Scriptures!

If we knew the scriptures we wouldn’t be surprise. Instead we would be prepared!

Can you see it in these scriptures?

MATTHEW 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

2 TIMOTHY 2:3-10 “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

MATTHEW 11:12  “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”

MATTHEW 10:16-40 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

1 PETER 4:12-19 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God (persecution/judgment from the world); and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-16  ”But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.  Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

ACTS 9:15-16  ”But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

JOHN 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”