THE PERSECUTION
By Donnie Swaggart
Great persecution is now brought against the Church. Great persecution generally follows a great Move of God. Satan is never pleased when God Moves. He will always try to stop that which is of God and by any means necessary. In this case, he uses the Jews who had rejected Christ. This was the Apostate Church of that day. Actually, the Apostate Church is the greatest threat to a true Move of God. The hatred and hostility of religion has started more wars, killed, and murdered more people than one can imagine. Religion is cruel and harsh and will stoop to any degree of evil to protect her false ways.
SAUL MADE HAVOC
The chief instigator of this persecution is Saul of Tarsus. Saul was the shining light of Judaism and the Pharisees. It is interesting to note that in describing his actions, the Holy Spirit used the word “havoc.” This word sums up his hatred for these followers of Christ. Havoc means: “To treat shamefully or with injury, to ravage, signifying the act of a ravenous animal seeking prey.” Simply put, Saul didn’t care about the suffering and death of these whom he persecuted. For a period of time he was driven by religious hatred that knew no bounds. Actually, Saul’s evil against the Early Church and the acts of violence carried out is what the Apostate Church would do today if it was not for the laws of the land. Though they can’t physically murder anyone, they attempt to destroy the character of God’s People with their tongue. However, take note, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than Saul’s hatred. For Saul, the great persecutor of the Church, would become Paul, the great proclaimer of the Gospel. The great destroyer of the Church would become the great builder of the Church. What a mighty God we serve. So don’t give up on those who are God haters around you. The Lord can get a hold of them and change their lives.
WHAT PERSECUTION DOES
Persecution always raises up true Witnesses of the true Faith. The blood of the martyrs was not, and is not, in vain. Though they died by the thousands: crucified, torn apart by wild animals, beaten to death, stoned, beheaded, mutilated, and burned at the stake, Christianity, the true Church, still remains. Rome and all other powers that tried to stamp out that which was of God are no more, as far as being a world power. I remind you Rome and the others fell. The blood of the martyrs still cries out today: “One Lord, one Saviour, one Baptism, one Faith.” Jesus said in Matthew 16:18: “I will build My Church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” For every martyr slain, there were 10, 20, 100 who took their place, stating: “Hammer away ye hostile bands, your hammers break, but God’s Altar stands.” No power on Earth or under the Earth can stamp out this glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. The blood of John Wycliffe, John Huss, William Tyndale, John Firth, Martin Luther, John Bunyan, George Fox, and countless others was not, and is not, in vain.
THE ANTHEM OF THE CHURCH IS:
“Stand up, stand up for Jesus you Soldier of the Cross.” William Tyndale was tied to the stake in 1536, beaten, strangled by the hangman to the point of death, and then set on fire. As the fire began to burn his body, his final words were: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” George Wishart, the Scottish reformer, when tied to the stake, before the fire was lit, lifted up his voice and said: “For the Word’s sake and the true Gospel, which was given to me by the Grace of God, I will suffer this day at the hands of men; not sorrowfully, but with a glad heart. For this cause I was sent, that I should suffer this fire for Christ’s sake.” Then he turned to the executioner and the mob and said: “Watch my face closely. You will not see me change color, for I do not fear this grim fire. I know surely that my soul shall dine this night with my Saviour Christ.” You can burn our churches, you can persecute us, beat us, and kill us, but we will not bow and we will not surrender, for we are the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and upon this Rock we stand, for all other ground is sinking sand.
THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS AND PERSECUTION
There is a new persecution rising up in the Church today. It is a persecution against those who have embraced and accepted the Message of the Cross. Families have been fractured, friends lost, and many are no longer welcome in Churches that they have been a part of for years. Some of you reading this article can attest to what I am speaking of. You have had friends and loved ones who have rejected you, some of you have even had to leave your Church because of the hostility. Religious man will fight to the death to hold on to his idols of works and self-righteousness. Some of you are growing weary from standing alone, as the pressure from family becomes greater and greater. As you become ostracized by friends, Satan begins to attack the mind with thoughts such as, “Is all this worth the price of lost loved ones and friends?” I have personally heard many stories and seen the anguish this causes, and I went to the Lord for Him to give me something to give to you, and He did.
EXODUS, CHAPTER 12
In Exodus, Chapter 12, we read where the Bible says that when Israel left Egypt, among the Hebrews were some Egyptians. These were those who heard and believed the words of Moses concerning the death of the first born. They believed and went into the homes protected by the Blood of the Slain Lamb and they were spared. When they left, they had to leave family and friends behind. This is what you must understand. Your relationship with the Lord is more important than family, friends, Church affiliation, or approval.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:37-39: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who takes not his cross, and follows after Me, is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life shall lose it: and he who loses his life for My sake shall find it.”
To turn back because of the opposition is to return to Egypt and the bondage you left behind. You have heard the Message of the Cross, you have believed, you have applied the Blood of the Slain Lamb upon the door posts of your heart, and you have seen the sin and the bondage of your past fall by the wayside; therefore, you must not give up, Egypt is behind us, the Promised Land is ahead of us. “Let my people go” are not just words, but it is the declaration of Victory, ratified at Calvary, “It is finished,” the proof of the Power of the Slain Lamb. Egypt is defeat, bondage, and slavery, but before us is the reality of the Words of our Lord: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). The abundance is the life free from the bondage of religion and dominion of sin. There is no victory in Egypt, there is no peace in Egypt, and there is no rest in Egypt, there is only death.
To turn back because of persecution of family and friends is to return back to not only to be enslaved by old bondages, but it is also to find one’s self in bondage to even greater sins of the flesh. You can be a slave to Pharaoh or you can be Free in Christ. Recently, the Lord spoke to us in Tongues and Interpretation during one of our Saturday morning Prayer Meetings. It was a Word you need to hear. The Lord said: “Do not despair, for weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning and it is morning for My People, do not be discouraged, look to Calvary, look to the Cross. Those who have opposed this Message, those who have fought against it, will see and repent.”
So, in closing, take heed to the Word of the Lord, don’t fear, don’t give up; for it is morning and the Joy of the Lord is our strength.
Your Evangelist, Donnie Swaggart
