FEARLESSNESS IN THE FACE OF DANGER

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In the last days, we will need to be fearless in the face of danger just as David was with Goliath.

“For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?… And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth and he has been a man of war from his youth.”…Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”… Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.” 1 Samuel 17:26b,33,36, 45-46

How was David so fearless? David knew that God was in control and he could trust God no matter how hopeless the circumstances.

How about Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

“ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

All three exhibited total trust in God despite the impossible circumstances.

Daniel was also fearless in the face of a horrible fate. The governors and high officials plotted against Daniel because King Darius was going to set Daniel as governor over the whole kingdom. They succeeded in getting the king against his will to cast Daniel into a lion’s den. It is obvious from the following Scripture that Daniel had witnessed extensively to King Darius.

“The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” Daniel 6:16

“Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” Daniel 6:21-22

“Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel 6:23

How about Joshua? At age eighty after forty years in the wilderness God gives Joshua the task of taking the Promised Land from its inhabitants, after thirteen major battles and many skirmishes God maintained his strength so that he could say “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me“.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.” Joshua 14:10-11

These passages in Joshua aren’t just a proof text for being fearless, they are also a lesson in the paradox of trusting God and also being fearless. Joshua was told to be strong and courageous, but God also told Joshua He would fight on behalf of Israel.

What about the example of Esther. She was fearless: “if I perish, I perish”.

“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:15-16

When preaching the Gospel we need to be fearless like Peter and I am sure we will see the power of God manifested as did Peter and many other Christians during a time of intense persecution.

“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.” Acts 3:12-16

TESTIMONY OF THE AUTHOR OF ARAB SPRING CHRISTIAN WINTER

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How to Build a Faith That Will Withstand Any Persecution

I will close this book with a few words of hopeful wisdom to help you in case you are terrified of the future and wonder if you will be able to withstand the difficult days ahead. I do not claim in any way that I have a monopoly on how to build a solid Christian life, or some special secret to achieve rapid maturity, an oxymoron in itself. It would be impossible for you to have the same huge host of people build into your life that have built into mine. I’m very sorry for those of you who have had few, if any, people pour into your life by spending time with you, praying with and for you, and guiding your growth as a Christian. I have been hugely blessed in this regard. Because of that godly input over many years and forty-plus years of walking with the Lord, I have a few ideas on how to build an unshakeable faith. People often ask me if I have doubted my faith while serving the Lord abroad in overwhelmingly Muslim communities. My answer is always “No. Being the only Christian for miles around actually builds my faith stronger.” That is because I continually see the vivid contrast between the reality of Christianity and the Holy Spirit within us, and the deadness of religion, even one that calls for extremely high commitment. As I’ve said many times before in print and in person, ONLY the Holy Spirit can change a life, no one else. That’s the primary, on-the-ground difference between Christianity and every other faith out there. The longer you are among those other faiths, even as you find elements worthy of admiration in them, you will understand that none of them actually change the heart.

So let’s take a brief look at a few steps you can consider to build a faith that will remain true and strong, even if Islamists order you to forsake it. ​1. ​Get Into a Small Group(s). There is absolutely no need to build a strong faith through your own effort, gutting out daily Bible reading, going to church whenever you can, and trying to pray for longer and longer amounts of time each day. The modern, Western thought that we can walk with Jesus but not follow any “organized religion” is wrongheaded. This type of Lone Ranger Christianity is nowhere to be found in God’s Word. It is a Western, individualistic interpretation of a faith that grew out of small groups, as we see all over the Book of Acts. I am saying clearly that you cannot grow the type of faith you will need in the End Times by watching sermons on television or online and staying in your own home with no regular contact with other Christians. The Church will never stand strong if it’s built on survivalists who move as far away from others as they can and practice an isolationist Christianity. You should not want to dive into body life simply because it is commanded. You should do it because it is enjoyable and a necessary part of your growth. We all need that sharpening from one another, as Proverbs 27:17 says, As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

The author of the book Arab Spring Christian Winter – Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World, Ralph Stice has spent many years living, working, and ministering in Muslim countries. His time in Turkey (seat of the former Ottoman Empire) has led him to the same conclusion as Joel Richardson author of The Mid East Beast – The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist.

A TIMELY REMINDER CONCERNING THE ASBURY REVIVAL

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Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries International gives us a timely warning: “with all of the talk of a potential revival sweeping the nation right now, I think it’s a good time to discuss the difference between “the fire of spiritual revival” and “the whisper of daily obedience.”

Greg uses the experience Elijah had with Jezebel and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. What happened after God sent the lightning bolt from heaven to consume the sacrifice?

Shocked and frightened, the people collapsed to the ground and started chanting, “The LORD—He is God! The LORD—He is God!” But Elijah wasn’t finished. He commanded the people to kill all the false prophets of Baal. and that’s exactly what they did.

Elijah scored his victory in an instant. Not only did he win the showdown, but he also wiped out the competition. At that moment, he must have been convinced that the fire of revival would strike in Israel, just as that lightning bolt from Heaven had struck the sacrifice.

Instead, it led to a death threat from the evil queen Jezebel, whose prophets he had humbled and slaughtered on Mt. Carmel that day and what did Elijah do?

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life… He came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” 1 Kings 19:3-4

We know that God provided for him miraculously on the journey but fueled by terror and adrenaline, he ran, then walked, and then slogged, ending up in a cave 280 miles away from Mt. Carmel, in the middle of a desolate wilderness. It was in the pitch black of that cold cave that he finally fell asleep, after 40 straight days and nights of weeping, wondering, and wandering.

The lesson

After he awoke the next day, God gave him an earth, wind, and fire object lesson he would never forget. At the mouth of the cave that day, Elijah learned the difference between the fire of spiritual revival and the whisper of daily obedience.

The revelation

We must learn that same lesson, especially as it seems “the prophets of Baal” (the world, the flesh, and the devil) are being defeated at Asbury University and that young people across the nation are increasingly chanting: “The LORD—He is God! The LORD—He is God!”

We all love the fire of revival. We all love it when God seems to send a lightning bolt of awakening, and the people, especially young people, hold high the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all love it when there seems to be a move of God that brings revival.

But what happened at Mt. Carmel didn’t translate to a true revival that transformed the culture and truly turned it back to God. It was a flash in a pan, and soon after, things went back to the norm.

What does the object lesson God gave to Elijah have to do with all of this?

We tend to look at God’s work primarily as the hurricane-force wind that brings in the Spirit of God and sets everyone’s tongue ablaze with the Gospel (Acts 2:1-4). Or the earth-shaking power of God that rattles the building when His people pray (Acts 4:31). Or the lightning bolt of fire from Heaven that consumes the sacrifice (1 Kings 18).

But, as amazing as those experiences are, they aren’t God’s primary modes of working. Of course, He uses those to accomplish His will and, sometimes, to launch spiritual movements. But His primary mode is in the whisper of daily obedience.

The encouragement

Elijah thought he was alone (“I am the only one left…” 1 Kings 19:10). He thought he’d failed at launching a revival (“I am no better than my ancestors.” 1 Kings 19:4) and that his ministry hadn’t made a difference. Why? Because his dramatic victory on Mt. Carmel didn’t lead to a lasting revival.

But God showed him something different. He whispered encouragement into his soul. He reminded Elijah:

‘Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.’ 1 Kings 19:18

Guess whose example inspired them? Elijah’s!

Guess who was not only their hero but also the hero of a hundred prophets hidden away in caves (1 Kings 18:4)? Elijah!

Guess who most likely inspired the thought of launching a school for prophets? Elijah!

God had used the whisper of daily obedience in Elijah’s life to produce a radicalized remnant of the few rather than triggering a sweeping revival of the many. And God was reminding him of that.

He had made a difference. And that difference had been made long before the showdown on Mt. Carmel.

The takeaway

What does all of this mean for the current revival happening at Asbury and in more and more spots across the nation and around the world? It means we need to keep being obedient, no matter what. We need to be daily fixated on Jesus in our everyday jobs or school classes. We need to make the grind a godly one. We need a relentless consecration of self and dealing with sin in our own lives, making sure we’re not “kissing the baals” of our culture. We need to have a steady flow of outward activation for the Gospel, sharing God’s message with everyone.

If this fire that struck Asbury University a few weeks ago is from God, it will continue to burn. But either way, we must continue to be overcomers.

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5

And God will use your relentless obedience, boldness, and faith to raise up a radicalized remnant to change the world.

Praise God for the spiritual hurricanes, earthquakes, and lightning bolts when they happen. But don’t underestimate the transforming power of God’s whisper in the dust of everyday life.

Great message from Greg Stier.