For the first 300 years of our faith, the church withstood governmental oppression and persecution. They were able to do so because they believed God’s promise of eternal life and lived with a hope in the resurrection as promised by our living Lord.
We need a reminder in our world today for the followers of Jesus Christ. The longer we place our hope in earthly rulers, the longer we will find frustration and disillusionment. In order for the kingdoms of our world to change, the hearts of their subject must change. External change without internal transformation is a temporary façade.
Observations & Conclusions:
- Make your primary identity, your primary concern
- Be concerned about your primary identity
- Worship the King
- Call others to worship the King
- Live according to your identity and purpose
Application:
- Do you live like a Pilgrim or a Peasant?
- Do you think like a Missionary or a Miner?
1 Corinthians 1:27
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
John 15:16a
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last”
Galatians 3:28
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Psalm 62:5-8
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Ephesians 1:19c-20
“That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”
2:6
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”
Exodus 19:5-6
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
John 17:14-16
“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”
Philippians 3:20
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Matthew 5:14-15
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”
Hebrews 11:13-16
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”