" Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24
THE LORD HAS TOLD US
Lets start with Jesus! Remember ALL that was said about and done to Him by the world of the lost and spiritually
dead in all positions in society: Top down to bottom! Our reality is that those who are dead in sins hate us for the Gospel
we preach. If we follow in our Lord's footsteps and carry the cross, we will openly be hated by some, inwardly killed
by others in their wicked heart.
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it
hated you." John 15:18
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake" Mt.5:11
"Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid." John 14:27
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have
peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you, then he
that is in the world."(1John 4:4).
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not
as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."(John 14:27)
" And behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Rev.22:12-13).
Now Paul: Jesus blessed him with these words which were prophetic in Paul's life; all coming true, FOR THE GLORY
OF GOD!
"For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." Acts
9:16
Paul's answer to the brethren who were concerned for him during his ministry
" Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only,
but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 21:13
MORE FROM PAUL
"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish
my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."
Acts 20:24
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16
" As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Romans 8:36
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer
with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17
"But we had the sentence
of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:" 2 Cor.1:9
" David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the
bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee."
1 Samuel 17:37
" Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the
preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."
2 Timothy 4:17
"For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the
living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." 1 Timothy 4:10
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
" Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of
me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;" 2 Timothy 1:8
" But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry." 2 Timothy 4:5
"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not
only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;" Phillipians 1:29
WE ARE COMFORTED
BY GOD
" And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
"But my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
"Now thanks be unto God, who
always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the fragrance of his knowledge by us in every place." 2 Cor.2:14
Peter Has A Witness For Us
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers
of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached
for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken
of, but on your part he is glorified. 1 Peter 4: 12-14
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." 1 Peter 5:8-9
(And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Job 1:7. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you." James 4:7. " Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11.)
" Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season,
if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:" 1 Peter 1:6
CONCLUSION
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17
"For we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that
he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10
"So then every one of us
shall give account of himself to God." Romans 14:12
