Stop Feeding The Trolls And Start Sharing Jesus

Somebody in the Bible probably inspires you. Peter’s boldness. Paul’s mind. Elijah’s fire. But here’s the question we don’t like asking: would we trade places with them, including the cost that came with their faith? We start with Matthew 5:11-12, where Jesus says you’re blessed when you’re reviled, persecuted, and lied about on his account, and we get honest about why that feels backwards.

We also draw a bright line between suffering for Jesus and suffering because we’re being rude. The Beatitudes shape our posture first: humility, repentance, mercy, then opposition. From there we talk about what “reviled” really means, why words hurt, and why social media makes slander feel unavoidable. Even Jesus was labeled a glutton, a drunkard, crazy, and even demonic, not because he did wrong, but because he went where the lost were and refused to play by religious optics.

Then we lean into the command that changes everything: rejoice and be glad. Not as a mood, but as a choice. Paul proves it from prison, where “to live is Christ and to die is gain” makes him impossible to threaten. We remember the long history of martyrs and persecuted believers, and we bring it back to everyday life in the United States: the world usually leaves you alone until you open your mouth.

We end with a simple challenge that turns courage into action: one text, one call, one post, one video for one person who needs light. Listen, share this with a friend who needs backbone, and if it helps, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find it.

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Transcript

Who You Admire In Scripture

Josh 0:01

So as we dig in this morning, I'm just gonna jump right into our big idea, and that is this who is it in Scripture outside of Jesus that you admire? And I wanted to include that outside of Jesus because I know everyone in here went, uh, it's Jesus. I'm gonna imitate Jesus. And absolutely, 1 Corinthians 11:1, imitate me as I imitate Christ, right? Like that is our end goal. However, as we look through scripture, are there people that stand out more to you than others? Like for me, for example, I look at someone like Peter and I go, man, I am jealous of Peter's boldness. Peter is always the first one who has something to say. And he does not care whether he knows what he's talking about or not. I mean, he just shoots out with whatever flows into his mind. Or I can look at someone like Paul and I go, good night. Could you imagine being able to grab a hold of the spiritual, to be able to like exegete scripture in a way that is just way above what you should be able to, even looking at Peter, right? Talking about Peter and Paul. Peter even goes, hey, look, I don't understand what Paul says. He is way too much for me. Or I look at someone like Elijah. I was having a conversation with our new teacher this year, and we were just talking about different people from the Bible, and I was telling him, I was like, man, if I was Elijah and I could call down fire from heaven, I would literally just be throwing kamehamehas all of the time, just because I could. For no other reason. Like we would put together a bonfire in the backyard, and I would just be like, hey, we don't need the lighter fluid and torch. And that would be amazing. Or I look at someone like David and I go, it would be awesome to be able to be that aware of my complete and utter dependence upon the presence of God. See, there's a lot of people, and if you really stop and dig into it, I'm sure there are people that you would be like, hey, that. Now, with that being said, would we really trade places with them? Would we really sit here and go, hey, like, you know, this or that, do I really want their outcome? And that's what we're gonna dig into today. So I'm gonna pray and then we can start wrestling around with that. Father, thank you so much for your word. And I ask and I pray, God, that as I go through it today, that it is your word, that it is not me, it is not my thought, it is not my opinion, because God, my words have no power in them. But Father, I pray it be your words that cut us to the heart, that allow us the opportunity to look more like your son. Father, I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Reading Matthew 5:11

Josh 3:15

All right, so in Matthew 5, we're gonna start in verse 11, and it says this Blessed are you when others revile and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. All right, I'm gonna jump in and I wanna start with this. I was talking to people last week over the past week. Okay, there's some things I wanna pull out, leave that verse up for a second. There's some things I want to pull out real quick before we even jump into everything it's saying. I want us to understand first, just like we saw last week, blessed are you who are persecuted for my name. It says up here, and all kinds of evil against you falsely on whose account? My account, Jesus' account. Here's what this means. If you're a butthole and people are persecuting you, that is not on account of Jesus. That's not what Jesus is talking about. You're that person that likes to just beat people over the head with Bible verses? That's not what Jesus is talking about. See, we have to remember that this beatitude is coming on the heels of all of the other beatitudes. So I'm poor in spirit, I'm humble, I understand my need for the gospel, for the Christ. I mourn my own sin. That means I'm spending more time looking at me than pointing the finger at you. Right? I'm all of these things, and then people persecute. And then people spread lies. This is not an excuse to, oh well, I'm just speaking the truth. I'm just letting them know how it is. No, you're not. You're being a jerk. And that is not what Jesus is talking about here. You're cold, you're heartless, you're mean, and people like persecute you. They're not doing that because of Jesus. They're doing that because you're cold, heartless, mean, and a jerk. Now, with that clarification, I do want to point out do you guys realize this is the first time in nine weeks we're gonna cover more than one verse? Like, think about this. This is an entire quarter of the school year that we've only done one verse. So I want to look at this, and I and I had to actually like remember how to do this with multiple verses, but we're gonna look at just verse 11 for a second, because Jesus is saying again, blessed are those who are persecuted for his name's sake. Now, last week we looked at blessed are those who are persecuted. So it's gonna seem like we kind of skim over that word persecution, but we talked about it last week, and if you weren't here, you can always go back and listen to the sermon. But Jesus also adds

Persecuted For Jesus Not Being Rude

Josh 6:30

two other things here, right? The first one is reviled. Can anybody in here raise their hand and go, over the past week, I have used the word reviled at all? Some of you it did kind of shock me that you didn't, because it just seems like a word you would use. But does anybody in here like when we hear that word, it's not a word we use often in our language, right? In the Greek, it's this word onadazo. Okay, and it means literally to be mocked or cast insults. So, in other words, what Jesus is saying here is blessed are those who are made fun of for my name's sake. Now, I don't know about you, but if you grew up in the 90s, you called yourself a Christian. You you were brave enough, like you were that one that brought your Bible to school, you put it on your desk, right? Did people make fun of you? Yeah. They did, didn't they? And it happens, right? You had your WWJD bracelet, and and people would make fun of you for that. Oh, you're just one of those Christian kids. Right? And Jesus is going, blessed are you. Why? Like, how, like, everybody in here knows the rhyme, right? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words, one, we know that is an utter lie, right? Words hurt. Two, why would Jesus say people making fun of you is going to create happiness within you? We've all been made fun of at some point in our life. We've all been picked on at some point in our life, and it doesn't make you feel good. It doesn't make you happy. And then he even goes on, he goes a step further, and he goes, and when people lie about you, who speak falsely on my or uh speak falsely against you. Anybody in here like you like when people talk behind your back and make up things about it? No. I mean, all we gotta do is open up social media. I went to more calls that started, well, on Facebook. Granted, that that kind of dates when I was a cop, but at least it wasn't my space, right? Which I heard is making a comeback. Yep, and all millennials went, oh, I'm gonna get back on. Again, but it's sitting here going. Jesus is like, hey, be happy when people talk about you. Be happy when people lie about you. And most of us in this room are probably sitting here going, that makes no sense. I hate when people talk about me. Here's the thing, and it's something we try to like push into our kids as much as possible. I don't care what you do, someone is going to have something to say about it. It doesn't matter whether it's the right thing, whether it's the wrong thing, it doesn't matter if you did all of the things you were supposed to do, someone is still going to have something to say about it. We were we were talking about false teachers throughout the the past couple of weeks. And I was trying to explain to my kids, look, there would be people on the internet who would hear any of my sermons and be like, he is a false teacher. And then you being you, because does anybody in here want to take like my first like reaction when I see that comment? Because I'll see him. What's my first reaction? Anyone want to take a guess on that? Nope, that isn't. I wish it was. Ignore it. Nope, it's not ignored. I wish that was it. Like both of those are way better than mine. What is it, Kayla? Oh, yeah, we're gonna argue back. I'm a false teacher? Cool. Let's have a conversation about this. Show me, prove to me that I'm wrong, or admit that I'm right. And I don't care about what you feel, you better be bringing Bible verses with you. And you know what? Jesus is sitting here going, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that shouldn't be your reaction. You preach the gospel. That's that's all I'm asking you to do, Josh. Because sometimes I do look at Elijah and I go, yeah, 450 prophets of Baal standing up on a hillside, let's go. Because there's just something that wells up in you, right? And we have to be very careful because some people would call that begins with a pee, ends

Mocked And Lied About

Josh 11:20

with a ride. Oh, good job, Kayla. So why is Jesus sitting here going, hey, be happy? For starters, they did it to Jesus. Like in Luke 7.34, Jesus shows us what people say about him. You ready? He says this the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. For starters, you know why they call Jesus that? Who is he hanging out with? Tax collectors and sinners, people that are way beneath him. And the Pharisees are sitting here going, hey, you're just like them because you hang around them. And Jesus is sitting here going, what you don't understand is these are the people I came to save. These are the 99 that that you guys are the 99 that that aren't lost. This is the one I came to find. This is the one I came to seek and save. This is the one that I went, hey, I'm gonna lay my life down for. And meanwhile, the church folk are just sitting here going, hmm. Sound kind of familiar? Like they spread lies about them because they don't understand what Jesus is doing. They can't wrap their heads around that in order to seek and save what is lost, I kind of gotta go where the lost people are. Now, does this mean that you're an alcoholic or an ex-alcoholic and you're like, hey, I have a bar ministry? Probably not. Because why put yourself in that position? That is stupid. If you're a dude in here and you're like, uh, God's calling me to a strip club ministry, no, he's not. I'm telling you that right out right out the gate. You have a gambling addiction, he ain't calling you to a casino ministry. But should we go where the lost are? Absolutely, because you can't find the lost among the saved. That's Jesus' whole point with the parable of leaving the 99 to go find the one. They say stuff about Jesus because they went, hey, we saw you at the party. We saw you like with the drink, like you turned water into wine. You mean to tell me you didn't have any of that wine? You're a drunk, you're a glutton. And Jesus is sitting here going, no, you guys just don't even understand like why I came to begin with. I didn't come for the well. I didn't come for the ones that don't need his actual analogy is this the healthy don't need a doctor. You know what I've never had to do? Call a lawyer. You know why? Because I've never been arrested. Therefore, I didn't need a lawyer. And that's what Jesus is trying to drive at, and yet what do they do? They talk about him, they revile him, they make fun of him, they spread false accusations against him. And it wasn't just them. In Mark 3, 21 and 22. It starts with this. And when his family heard it, Jesus is coming back to his hometown after he started his ministry, and his family hears, hey, they're coming, he's coming back. Okay, I don't know about you, but when I came back from the military, my mom was really excited to see me. Debbie was super excited when I walked in the house because I'd been gone and now I'm coming back. When Jesus' family heard that he was coming back, they went out to see him, for they were saying, He is out of his mind. It's a fancy way of saying he's crazy. And before we jump to conclusions, if your child all of a sudden went, I am the Messiah, I am God in flesh, you would probably be like, No, you're not. And if you're sitting here going, I wouldn't, you are a parent that needs to attend like our parenting classes. Because no child in here is God in flesh. So I get it. But but again, was Jesus just like his brothers and sisters? I get asked this all the time, right? Did Jesus poop like in his diaper? Yeah, he probably did, right? He was human, which means he did all of the human things. But was he sinless? Yeah, he was. I don't know what that would look like to have a kid growing up. Like, like, I mean, I'm not gonna like call out my kids' names because I don't want to embarrass them, but one of them's pretty good. Like, one of them really doesn't give us issues. We don't really have to like, you know, have these deep, long conversations. She never really got spanked a lot because she didn't do anything. And I'll uh and and even realizes that if she would just keep the house clean, it would be peace in our house forever. Because she knows what mommy gets mad at. But she's still not perfect, she has still sinned. So I don't know if Mary looked at Jesus while he was growing up and just went, oh, okay, he's just that easy child. You know, he's the oldest. Takes on that leadership role. I do know at some point she went, he's crazy, and they're looking to seize him. He's out of his mind, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and the scribes, the church folk who came down from Jerusalem were saying, He is possessed by Belzebal and by the prince of demons. He casts out demons. Anyone in here? Have you ever been accused about being a demon? I got great stories, and I don't know if I should share them because I don't really want to make Debbie mad, but one of the first things I ever heard about Debbie was that the devil controls her tongue. And I didn't believe it at first, but I will tell you, after 22 years of marriage, I was like, maybe that wasn't as far off as I thought. But again, this is the church, folks. They're sitting here going, we don't understand how he can cast out demons. He must be a demon. Think about that. You wonder why they crucified him? Because they're sitting here going, he's the devil. Because they're sitting here going, he's doing things that we can't do. And so we have to make up a reason for why he's doing it and we're not. I mean, think about it. At this point, all Jesus is doing is going around healing people, restoring sight, causing the lame to walk. All of these, by the way, are fulfillment of prophecy we see in Isaiah. And the lame will leap. I mean, Jesus is doing all of the things that the prophet said he was gonna do. He's sharing the good news, he's setting the captives free. And look at what people's responses are. He's a drunk, he's a sinner, he's crazy, and he's a devil. What is Jesus doing to deserve any of that? Nothing. He is literally doing all of the things he's supposed to be doing. People are literally, the chains of addiction and bondage and all of the things are literally breaking. Hearts are being restored, and people still got something to say. And you think you're different? Like if you're doing the things Jesus did, you think the world's just gonna look at you and be like, oh, you're such. You know, and the only people that can like congratulate anybody who's doing anything for Jesus, other people who believe in Jesus. That's it. Other than that, here's the kind of things they say. Oh, you're a pastor, you just want money. You're just corrupt. Teaching from a corrupted book. To them I go, how's that working out for you? You got your stuff together, right? Everything in your life's peachy. Oh, it's not? Cool. The only people that are happy, honestly, are the people that come in the sharing center. And even then, do you know how much it is to get someone to come into so that you can give them groceries? Every single one of them so far has like tried to bring something with them and went, hey, can I trade you this for groceries? And then we we get to explain, no, that's not how this works. You can keep that. We're just gonna give you food because you're a human being and you need to eat. But they they feel that weight and shame as they're walking in because they don't understand how someone who doesn't even know them could love them. See, they're sitting here and they're talking all about this. They're they're making up lies, they're slandering Jesus. They're sitting here going, hey, he's not who he said he is. And we think we can escape it. We think that if we can just be buddy enough with the world, then the world will accept us. John 15, 18 shows us very clearly. If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. All Jesus had to do, if you look at John 1, it's not gonna be up on screen. All Jesus had to do to get hated was be born. Why? Because the light was coming into the darkness. And it's the same thing, like every morning, I have automation on lights in my room. So at this time in the morning, those lights turn on. Because what what is that going to do for me? Wake me up. And I'll tell you right now, I'm a hard person to wake up. Like, I mean, you really have to like dropkick me in the ribs, and I'll be like, I get it. I don't care how many alarms I have set. I don't care, like, if it wasn't for Debbie being at the house, I would never get anywhere in the morning. Unless I'm going fishing, for some reason I can pop up with an alarm for that. But And I know we dug into it last week. But listen, if you're doing Jesus things and the world is fighting against you, understand that's a good thing. When I put up a sermon clip and someone comments on it and tells me how fake I am and how false what I'm teaching is. Yes, I should just ignore it. Yes, I should be happy because of it. Because that's a Jesus thing. And the world's gonna fight Jesus till the day it dies. Last week we talked about that. If the world isn't pushing back, if darkness isn't pushing back against me, am I pushing against darkness? Because listen, the world's fine with you as long as you keep your faith to yourself. The world's fine with you as long as you're like, okay, like separation of church and state, which I don't know if anybody knows this, is not anywhere in our founding documents. We just bought that lie though. We just went, oh, you're right. We're not a Christian nation. We have freedom. Which is true. But I can point to so many places, even in our founding documents where you see scripture coming through. And yet we bought into that lie. Listen, the world hated Jesus just for being born. And if you're sitting here going, I'm following him, I want to be like him, the world's gonna hate you too. And Jesus is saying, be happy. Because that means you're actually doing the things I'm telling you to do. And then verse 12 steps in.

Rejoice Is A Choice

Josh 23:39

Jesus is ending his beatitudes with this verse. Like this is the, like, think about it. All the other beatitudes we went through, they got one verse. This one Jesus gave us three verses on because he went, I listen, guys, this is gonna, this is what's gonna cause you to lose heart. Verse 12 steps in and Jesus says this rejoice and be glad. For your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. And I know that this seems like a weird reaction because, like I've explained twice now, when someone like attacks you, your first reaction isn't to rejoice. Your first reaction is to defend. Here, think about it. Your spouse today goes, hey, I don't like how you cleaned this. That can kick off World War III in the house, can't it? Because you're like, really? Like, what's wrong with how I cleaned it? Well, you think you can go, you know what, from now on, you just do all of this. How's that? And that's our reaction to everything, right? How dare you have a thought or opinion about what I'm doing? The Bible says, judge not. And next year we'll get to that verse. But see, Jesus sits here and goes, no, no, no, no. Rejoice. Rejoice, be glad. Listen to how Paul words this in Philippians 4, 4. You ready? Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. What's it mean when you say something twice? It's important. Right? No, no, no, no, no. Listen, what does it mean when you say something twice? It's important. And now everyone in here is going to leave going, well, he said that twice, it must be important. Paul is literally sitting here going, rejoice. Always. Again, listen, rejoice. Too many of us, this is not our go-to. You're miserable in life. You want to know why? Because you don't rejoice. That's why. And it is, do not get it wrong. It is a choice. Kayla, did I know what songs you guys were singing this morning?

unknown 26:01

No.

Josh 26:01

No, I didn't. They came in in the morning. I went, hey, what are y'all's songs so I can add them to the slides? But you want to hear something in my notes? You ready? Rejoice is a choice, just like in the song, Yes, I will. I choose to praise. I choose to rejoice. Those of you that are like always moping, and you're the eeors of humans. Oh, it's okay. Understand that's a choice. People in here, you walk around, you're mad all the time, you're like the incredible Hulk, right? That's his secret, right? I'm always angry. Understand that's a choice. And you're sitting here going, no, you don't know my life situation. No, I don't. And I don't need to. Because I'm telling you, it's a choice. Everything you do is a choice. Some of y'all are like, hold up, I thought you believed in predestination. I do for your salvation, but the things you do, it's a choice. You're choosing. Can you choose how you feel?

unknown 27:11

Yes.

Josh 27:11

No, you can't, right? But can I choose, no matter what I feel, to rejoice? Yes, I can. When I get that comment off this sermon clip about how I'm a terrible human being, because how dare I preach a barbaric gospel? Yes, I've gotten that comment. I can choose to rejoice. I can choose to go, ha ha, devil, got you. Or I can get mad, which is what I normally do. And then launch into a three-paragraph response, to which I never get a reply. I never get the message liked. And JT constantly explains to me, Daddy, those are just trolls. Stop. To which I go, no, someone's gonna read this comment. And he goes, No, they're not. Instead of just rejoicing. Instead of just going, yeah, that was like a right hook to the devil's jaw. Instead of rejoicing, because it's a choice. The devil's attacking you, rejoice and be glad. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Y'all know that's in the Psalms, right? Like it's not just a song we sang, us millennials. I will enter his gates with what in my heart? Thanksgiving. Those are choices. You're walking around miserable, that's on you. You want to know what? You could have made a choice to go out to the beach at night, right when the sun is setting, and listen, all you need is one fishing pole, a weighted hook in that 18th to 316th ounce, and a paddle tail. And I wish I would have put it in the presentation. We just caught a 28-inch schnug the other day. You think I was rejoicing on that? Yep. As Eli is like with us, he's a student here at Mission Academy because that's what Mission Cent Outdoors does, right? Takes the people that go, hey, I want to go fishing and takes them out into the outdoors. And I went, Do you want to touch it? And he went, Nope, that fish is way too big for me to touch. Do you think I was rejoicing? Oh, I was shaking on the inside. You know what else I could have been doing? Sitting at my house pouting because summer's over. Which was the other option for the night. And we went back and forth. See, it's a choice. And Jesus is sitting here going, hey, when it gets hard, when people are running their mouths about you, when people are lying about you, when people are making fun of you, rejoice.

Paul’s Unshakeable Mindset In Prison

Josh 29:57

Listen, when we have this mindset from Philippians 1, verse 21. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Listen to me. What do you do to a person like this? How do you mess with a person like this? How do you bring a person like this down? Well, let's talk about the author, right? Who wrote it? Paul. Does anybody know where Philippians was written from? It was a it's a prison epistle. This is him writing in jail, right? And he's saying, for me to live is Christ to die is gain. Because here's what happens. You throw Paul in jail, he starts a prison ministry. Next thing you know, he's converting all the people in jail and the jailers. Next thing you know, he's planting a church. Guys, listen to me. The church of Philippi, the church he is writing this letter to was planted because they threw him in jail. He looked at the jailer, there was an earthquake, all the doors opened, the jailer's about to kill himself. He's the one who yells out, hey, don't do it. Now, this jailer has been torturing Paul the entire time he's been in there. And then he goes, No, I don't care that you were torturing me. I don't care that I was at the bottom of the prison where all of the human excrement is flowing. I don't care that you were starving me. I don't care that you were beating me. Don't kill yourself. Everybody's still here. And then the jailer goes to him and goes, hey, we gotta talk about this. And Paul literally just throws the gospel at him. And then they start the church of Philippia, uh Philippi. Any of us, that's that's how we planted? Nah, that ain't how we planted. We did it the right way. Where you go through an organization and a network and you get trained in all of the things and you get this big fancy degree, and then you go, okay, let's go plant a church. Paul, you throw him in prison. He converts the prisoners in the jail staff. They go, hey, we can't have him around the prisoners in the jail staff because he's bringing the gospel and the light to the darkness. Hey, we're gonna put you on house arrest. You know what he does on house arrest? Goes, cool, give me a pen and paper, I'm writing half the New Testament. They go, we're gonna beat you. Cool. I'm gonna convert. I'm gonna sing hymns. I'm gonna rejoice. We're gonna kill you. Great, I get to go be with Jesus. How do you mess with this guy? You literally can't do anything to him, and it's all a choice. But some of us in here, our entire week is rocked because someone said something mean about us. And it's like, ah! And then we're just gonna sit and we're gonna pout. But that wasn't nice. Who cares? People are gonna run their mouth. Haters gonna. Oh, okay, so you know that already. But yet we still just allow it to ruin everything about us. See, Paul understands the words he would uh later write in Romans 8.18 this, I do not count the present sufferings of this world as anything in comparison to the glory ahead of me. How many of us, that's what we hold on to? How many of us when people are running their mouth, when people are lying about us, when people are screwing us over, when people are being people? We're like, don't matter. I don't even care. This doesn't even come close to the glory that's going to be revealed. This ain't my best life. What's coming is much better than this will ever be. Even if I had all of my wish list, what is coming is still better. Think about it. One day I'm gonna fish the Crystal River. Not Crystal River over in Florida. I fished that many times, and it is really good fishing. Swim with manatees, it's a lot of fun over there. There's a great barbecue restaurant. Like, I don't see a downside here. But I'm gonna be able to actually get in the crystal river of heaven. Could you imagine what that fishing's gonna be like? Can you imagine like how clear that water must be? It's like everywhere you go in heaven must look like the keys. And for those of you that had a bad experience with the keys, I'm sorry, you went to the wrong place. Because you've seen pictures I've posted, it didn't look like how you described it. And that's how it's gonna look. Everywhere. All the time. There's not gonna be pollution. We're not gonna have. I apologize. Big sugar ruining Okeechobee and then our estuaries.

unknown 34:32

It's the river that flows from Orlando and the septic tanks.

Josh 34:35

And the septic tanks, absolutely. I agree wholeheartedly.

unknown 34:40

We're gonna fight.

Josh 34:42

See, there's something coming that's better than anything I can possibly imagine here. See, Paul understands that he knows no matter how bad it gets here, no matter the suffering, no matter the hardships, this is only temporary. And honestly, ask my mom before you leave, before you realize it, you're at that side of this life. That time went. You woke up one day and you went, crap. You look in the mirror. I don't know about you. I look seriously, I was getting out of the shower last night and I was like, dang, I look old. Like, I don't think that all the time. Like most of the time, I'm like, I still got it, Debbie's a lucky woman. However, for whatever reason, I saw the honesty yesterday and I was like, Debbie puts cream on this. I wonder, what could I? Will it work the same? And we realize that. I look at my children and I go, JT voted. Like he is old enough that they trust him enough, oh good God, to go, hey, you get to elect our leaders. I go, what happened to the pudgy little baby we brought home? That was yesterday. See, this flies by, it's temporary. And Paul knows that Jesus promised all who endure, all who follow after him, the kingdom of heaven is theirs. The question is, is do we believe that? I know we know, right? I know we know it's true. The question is, is do we believe that? See, there's a reason why I started this sermon with this. Who outside of Jesus do you admire? Because they believed that. Do you want to know how we know? You guys ready? Peter. Bold Peter. In his boldness, tradition tells us that Peter was crucified upside down because he went, I shouldn't die the same way Jesus did. He didn't fight it, he didn't go on the run, he didn't hide. He just went, hey, if you're gonna kill me, do it upside down. That way I don't look like Jesus. Paul, who arguably, I mean, if you listen to enough of my sermons, you know Paul's letters have a very big impact on my life. Tradition says Nero beheaded him. Went to jail one time and he didn't come back. Elijah? Well, actually, Elijah's carried off in a chariot of fire. That's really cool, right? Like, if I'm gonna go, that is how to go, right? Now, that being said, though, y'all realize that Elijah, this great prophet, this great man of God that calls down fire from heaven, battled his entire life with depression and suicidal tendencies. Literally defeats 450 prophets of Baal, and the very next thing you read about him, he runs and hides in a cave and goes, God, take my life now. Like, think about that. If I call down fire from heaven, I'm all over Facebook and Instagram, right? Showing everyone my trick. He's like, No, God, just take my life now. See, every single one of us in this room, we need to understand that what we're doing right now, what we're going through right now, this isn't new. The church has been persecuted since there's been a church. The church has been hunted down since there's been a church. None of this is new. Christians have been made fun of since Jesus. Christians have been lied about since Jesus. People have tried to tear down the church since Jesus. What we're doing isn't new, it's just our turn. It's just our turn to do, it's our turn to carry.

Martyrs Then And Now

Josh 38:40

So let me tell you a little bit about some of these people that have come before you. Some of these names, I'm sure some of you have heard, some of you haven't. But in Acts, we get this story about this guy named Stephen. Stephen's the first Christian martyr. He's the first person outside of Jesus to die for the church. By Paul, by the way. He's stoned to death in Jerusalem around 36 A.D. Polycarp of Smyrna. And I know everyone in here is like, oh yeah, I forgot about Polycarp. He's a disciple of John. He's bishop in Smyrna. He's burned and stabbed to death. Perpetua and Felicity, it's a noblewoman and her servant. They were mauled in a Roman arena in 203 AD. Jan Hus is a Czech church reformer, was burned at the stake for helping to reform the church in 1415. William Tyndale, he's the guy who translated the Bible into English for the first time. So all of us that read the Bible in our own native language, we have him to think. Yeah, he was strangled and burned alive in 1536. Maximilan Kolby was a Polish priest who took another prisoner's place at Auschwitz. In other words, he went, hey, I'm gonna die for you. Any of us were on that train? No. He died in 1941 at Auschwitz. Diedrich Bonhoeffer, if anyone in here knows him, he was a German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident. He was hanged in 1945 for his beliefs. Oscar Romero was a Salvadorian archbishop. He was assassinated while holding Mass in 1980. And then in 2015, which was yeah, 11 years ago. But still, everyone in here was alive. Well, yeah, everyone in here was alive. 21 Coptic Christians in Egypt were beheaded in Libya. So you understand, this has been going on. It's just our turn. It's not new. But again, here's the hard truth about persecution. The world doesn't revile you. The world doesn't lie about you. The world doesn't like hunt you down because you came to church today. Especially here in America. None of you are at risk just for coming here today. The world is perfectly happy to leave you alone as long as you leave the world alone. Right? Again, us millennials in here, you remember right? Don't ask, don't tell. The world's sitting here going, that's how we view you with Jesus. You leave us alone, we'll leave you alone. You stay in your little circle over there, you stay at Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby, we won't have a problem with you. But don't you dare encroach on our turf. See, the fire only comes when you open your mouth. When you're pushing back against darkness, when you're calling out idols, when you're calling out things that the Bible calls out. That's why I brought up Elijah. Because as Elijah was standing on Mount Carmel with the 450 prophets of Baal in front of him, he is making fun of them. He is like uber sarcastic with them. Elijah has a boldness and a fierceness standing on that mountain. And he defeats them. And their deal before the showdown was this. Hey, we're each gonna build an altar. And whoever's altar, God sends fire and burns up, that is the real God. And everyone was like, yes, okay, I agree to the terms. And for those of you that don't know the story, Baal's fire never came. Elijah's, on the other hand, he drenched it to where there was standing water all the way around his altar. And when God sent fire, it was enough to burn up the sack, the bull, the altar, the ground, and all of the water. Elijah, pretty decisive victory. This wasn't a bad judge call at the end of the fight. Wasn't a robbery. And immediately after, after he is calling out the false God of Baal, after he stands in public and goes, Jezbel, you're wrong. That's when the persecution came. That's when Jezbel went, Yep, I'm gonna kill him. And that's when he went, Oh, time to get out. Again. Wouldn't have been my. I'd have been like, oh, you're gonna kill who? Did you just see what I did to this bull? Ah, like, but this is when the prophets and the martyrs we just talked about, they were hunted down not for what they believed internally. They were separated and killed for what came out of their mouth. They were hunted down because they opposed the world. They were hunted down because they shared the gospel externally. They were hunted down because they went, we're going to preach the truth. No matter what.

When You Speak Up The Fire Comes

Josh 44:03

See, this is why evangelism isn't just a church program. This is why we're called to lay down everything we are. That's why evangelism cannot, listen, cannot be an optional thing that you're like, I'm just, I'm not an evangelist. You might not be. That might not be where your strength is. But does anybody want to come up to me after service and go, hey, I don't talk? No? So we all talk. We can all admit that, right? What if I just change what I talk about? What if instead of going, hey, I'm going to jump in on this because the world likes it, what if I just went, no, I'm actually going to talk about Jesus. And I'm going to make people around me uncomfortable. And it does make them squeamish and uncomfortable. And that's cool and fun. And it's also pushing back against the darkness. See, that's what they're hunting down for. It's declaring a truth to the culture that worships the idols. And yes, it may draw fire. And yes, you might be mocked. They might make fun of you. They may lie about you. But remember what Jesus said. Rejoice. That pushback that you're experiencing is the exact proof that you're finally doing damage to the darkness. So as we close today, here is our challenge. This week, put it out there. Send one text, record one video, share one post, make one phone call. Listen. We don't go attack everything at the same time. You want to push back against darkness? Push back with that one person you know is in darkness. And for some of us, that might be right there in our own home. That might be a child, that might be a spouse, that might be someone who you're sitting here going, yep, yep, yep. They need that. And that's why every week I give you one challenge. Do one thing. I'm not trying to overwhelm you with all of the things. It's just one. So, Father, I ask and I pray that as we leave this room, that God, we take that step. We send that text, we record that video. God, we do whatever it is that you are putting on our hearts to push back against the darkness. And God, when the world reviles us, when the world falsely accuses us, when the world hates us, I ask and I pray, God, that you give us the ability to rejoice, to be happy knowing that we are pushing. That God, darkness is getting lighter because we exist. Father, I ask and I pray that if there's anyone in this moment that is sitting here going, I need to step it up. That God, you give them a boldness and a courageousness that, Father, you you allow them the ability to push into it. I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.