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God in Unexpected Places

Encountering God in Persecution

#3 in series of 4

Matthew 14:1-11

Is persecution the evidence that good is somehow less powerful than evil?    If God is love; why does he allow unloving people to mistreat good people?

Five critical truths that we learn from the Bible:

John the Baptist struggled with this issue. 

 The Bible teaches that persecution should be expected.

2 Timothy 3:10-13

If people persecuted Jesus; they will persecute his followers. 

We are to see persecution as an opportunity to love and not to hate.

Matthew 5:43-45

“I can choose to be grateful when I am criticized. I can choose to listen to the voices that forgive and to look at the faces that smile, even while I still hear words of revenge and see grimaces of hatred.”                                            Henry Nouwen

God uses persecution to strengthen his church.

"Unless Christians leading the church in America change, and unless the church begins living out the magnetic attractive force Jesus had on the world, the Christian Church in America will be completely marginalized within decades."

John Burke

“If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.”

Vance Havner

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.”                                

Matthew 5:43-45