John Piper preached a sermon, “He Saw the Grace of God and Was Glad,” from Acts 11:23. Here is an excerpt; please read or listen to the entire sermon at DesiringGod.org The Grace of God Uses Suffering In other words, the good news about Jesus Christ came to Antioch because of persecution. Barnabas saw this … More John Piper: The Grace of God Uses Suffering
Acts 8:1-4 And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off … More “I think I’m still surviving today because our God is great”
John 16:1-4 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor … More Grace is never really popular.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I … More Be prepared to be hated
Suffering arrives in our lives in many ways, sudden or slow-onset, long-lasting or short-lived, many different varieties afflict us. How do we handle suffering? What is our response to tragedy in our lives? In Job 2, we see a man faced with not only the loss of his children and all his earthly riches, but … More Responses to suffering
In America, generally,Christians have not had to face the kind of risk and persecution that is common in other parts of the world. Here is a recent report from northern Nigeria, from the Persecution Blog (VOM) “The militants attempted to force the pastors to convert to Islam, but they refused to abandon their faith. … More Risk and the Cause of God
ESV Study Bble: 1 Thess. 3:3–4 Paul’s motive for sending Timothy was to strengthen the persecuted Thessalonians (cf. 2 Thess. 1:5–7). we are destined for this. Christians are destined to suffer tribulation for their faith (Rom. 8:17–18; 2 Tim. 3:12; also Mark 10:30; 1 Pet. 4:12–13). Apparently the Thessalonians had been taken aback by the unrelenting persecution.
34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’….. ……51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so … More Missions: what do you expect?
In a message, “Christ’s Purpose in Evangelism,” Dr. John Piper said: When Jesus looked into the future and predicted what would happen to his disciples, he said something very sobering, but also very encouraging. He said (in Luke 21:12–13), They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues … More God’s Evangelistic Strategy
As someone passionately active in missions (vvmi.org), I am still NOT on the frontlines. I experience the joys of being involved and seeing God at work, but I do not yet personally suffer any of the costs of frontier missions. John Piper explains the COSTS and the BLESSINGS of frontier missions, in his sermon, “I … More The Costs and Blessings of Frontier Missons…John Piper on Matthew 10
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