God’s Most Efficient Tool

2 Tim 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Matt 5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Intro: What is God’s will and purpose for my life? That is the most asked question that I get asked or that people want to ask the most often. How do I tell if the voice of God is speaking? How do I know if I should change locations, partners, work, houses, friends, churches, actions, lifestyles, attitudes, etc...? The answer to all of these questions lie in God’s Word.

Bible College decision to preach themes of the Bible rather than cute sermons. In order to preach themes of the Bible (salvation, blood, grace, mercy, healing, the Will of God, forgiveness, patience, etc...), I began to study themes in the Bible. The Greek word for “Word” is logos which means the intent or plan of God. When we study the themes of the Word of God, we find the intent and the plan of God. When studying the themes of the Bible, we find the intent or plan of God for our life as well - that is why we have the records of so many other people’s lives, so we can see how God is working in a similar fashion in our life as well.

________________________________________________________________________

The seed of the Word of God analogy

Matt 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

The majority of the persecution comes into our lives from the Word of God being placed within us! When you begin to study the Word of God, you begin to study the plans and intents that God has for your life. Notice verse 20 says that the person heard the word (that means understood), and received it WITH JOY! The person however did not make it because they were offended by persecution coming into their life. But the persecution arose BECAUSE OF the WORD. When you understand the word of the Lord, and obey the word of the Lord, then you are saying “Lord, I sumbit myself to your will in my life.” God then takes out His tool box and begins to say “OK, I’ve been waiting for you to say that. Hmmmmm. A little needs to come off of this side, Ohhhh there’s a big chunk of something that needs to be removed here.... Yuck, they’ve got a large growth of unforgiveness here, let’s see, out of all my tools, which one will work most effectively here?! God has many tools. Ephesians 4:11 lists some of them:

Eph 4:11-15 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Other tools of God are more subtle: mountains, valleys, environment. In our text, Paul told Timothy, a young pastor asking for advice in helping his saints that “all that live Godly” would suffer persecution! Why? because persecution is God’s most effective tool in forming your life into what He wants it to be. The persecution in Jesus’ parable of the Sower did not come from Satan, it came from God working on the person! God’s uses His favorite tool, persecution, to remove things out of us that would hinder His intentions for our life to coming to pass!

________________________________________________________________________

Christianity today doesn’t want to submit themselves to persecution. Oh, they like to talk about the Gladiators and the Romans using Lions to rip Christians to shreds because there’s glamour in identifying with those kind of Christians (Especially since the only lions that today’s Christians see are in the zoo -- it’s a different view totally when you’re in the Den of Lions! We like to talk about taking up our crosses and following Jesus, and it’s easy to talk about it when America today is not crucifying people.). Our persecution today comes from lions and crucifixions of a more vicious sort: The Devil, our family, our friends, our weaknesses, our work, and our dreams!

A Lion in scripture usually represents persecution.

1 Pet 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

This states that the Devil goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The devil has to get permission to bring persecution upon a person (remember Job). If you are going through persecution it is because God is allowing it!

Job in Job 4:10 compared his suffering to a lion.

In I Kings 10:19 we find that the entrance to Solomon’s temple was flanked by two large lion statues.

When Daniel was persecuted for praying to the one, true living God, He was cast into a Den of Lions. When King Darius decided to persecute the men who tricked him into persecuting Daniel, He cast those men into the Den of Lions.

As Samson was traveling to do the work of God, he killed a lion, and God used the situation to slay 30 Philistines. (Judges 14:5-9)

Before David could ever kill the Giant, he first had to get past the lion of persecution in His life (both in physical and in spiritual) (I Samuel 17:24). (His daddy was ashamed of him, and his brothers despised him.)

The Bible record an interesting story of Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men:

2 Sam 23:20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:

1 Chr 11:23 And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

Benaiah, like David, had to slay the lion and lionlike men before he had the courage to face the giant. The Egyptian was 7 and a half feet tall! Both David and Benaiah attacked the Giants in their life with insufficient weapons and killed the Giant with the Giant’s own weapon! God sends the lions of persecution in your life to get you out of your comfort zone to fight for Him! Benaiah had gone through the worst of persecution, and when he came out of it, no giant scared him. Some Christians live in fear of persecution not realizing that by doing so they are remaining under the influence of Giants in their life! Allow persecution to hone you as a spiritual warrior!

In I and II Kings, twice lions killed the enemies of God, and God used lions to destroy some wicked Samaritans (II Kings 17:25-26)

In the New Testament, we still find God using His favorite tool: Persecution.

Acts 8:1-4 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

Before Jesus ascended, He gave two basic commandments: go ye therefore into all of the World, but before you do first wait in Jerusalem until you receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Then you will have power to be witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, unto the uttermost parts of the earth. The disciples tarried in Jerusalem and the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the day of Pentecost. From that time on they had tremendous growth IN JERUSALEM. It took a man named Saul who begin to extensively persecute the church, and the death of Stephen to cause the Christians to scatter out of Jerusalem into Samaria, and eventually to the other parts of the World! When Christians are too scared to witness, or comfortable in God -- it’s Human Nature -- God always brings Persecution, His most effiecient tool for moving Christians!

Acts 11:19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

When the Christians began to be persecuted in the Coliseum as entertainment, the Romans used lions thinking they had some new invention, but did not realize that they were pawns in the hands of God, because to escape the persecution, the church people spread all over the World which was God’s major plan in the first place.

When Jesus comes back as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, He will persecute those that have persecuted Israel:

Micah 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

God uses persecution, his most efficient tool to make us what he wants us to be! When persecution comes into your life because of the Word, you need to realize that it is sent from God! Persecution is a sign of God’s love, He loves you enough that we will not allow you to stay bound by things in your life, so He takes out His tools! Persecution is a sign that God is working on you! And if God is working on you, then He intends for you to accomplish something great for Him! If persecution is in your life, then God is creating you into the most beautiful tool. To shapen diamonds, you must use other diamonds. To sharpen iron you must use iron. The blessings and mighty works that God is going to do through you is in direct proportion to the amount of persecution that you are in!

________________________________________________________________________

Psalms 23, the shepherd psalm illustrates this:

Ps 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

________________________________________________________________________

The seven churches of Asia. See if Smyrna is the only one that God is pleased with.

Revelation 2:8-10.

Ephesus - left first love

Smyrna -

Pergamos - allowed false doctrine

Thyatira - allowed “Jezebel” to stay

Sardis - Very sinful church

Philadelphia - Very Good, but only a little strength

Laodicea - Because of Riches and Pleasures, they were lukewarm.

Rev 2:8-11 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

________________________________________________________________________

What happened to the twelve disciples of Jesus?

Peter -- Peter was crucified (upside down) in Rome, establishing other churches in Italy.

James -- killed by Herod with a sword (Acts 12:1-3)

John -- Died of old age in Asia after being boiled in oil and banished to Patmos.

Andrew -- Crucified in Greece on an X shaped cross for preaching the Gospel.

Phillip -- Killed preaching in Syria and Phrygia, cause unknown.

Thomas -- Lanced with a spear while preaching in Persia.

Barthalomew -- Preached in India, was beaten with a whip, and then crucified upside down.

Matthew -- Preached in Judea for 15 years and then traveled in foreign nations.

James the lesser (the son of Alphaeus) --

Simon Zelotes --

Judas (Jude the brother of James) --

Matthias (replaced Judas Iscariot in Acts 1) -- Probably stoned to death in Judea.

________________________________________________________________________

That man Saul who had persecuted the Christians so thoroughly, had an experience on a Damascus road and discovered who Jesus Christ really was. He changed his name to Paul and became the greatest theologian that ever lived. Paul wrote over half of the New Testament! Because of His friends Paul knew the future plans for persecuting the church, and knew that he was about to face tough persecution! In fact we know that we reap what we sow, and Paul faced more persecution and opposition than any other apostle. But it was Paul’s attitude toward persecution that we need to copy:

Phil 1:12-14 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Rom 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God was able to take the one who persecuted Him the most, and use Him the most! Why? Because Paul realized that persectution was God’s Greatest tool for making us into perfect will!