Praying, Prevailing, Persecuted Church

Praying, Prevailing, Persecuted Church By Timothy Moore Acts 17:16-29 John 1:1 John 1:14 Genesis 1:26 Hebrews 13:4 Ephesians 2:8-9 Hebrews 4:16 Matthew 5:43-45 1 Corinthians 13:8

Around the world, more than 360 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution, just for following Jesus. That’s 1 in 7 believers, worldwide.

Persecution is defined as intense and consistent levels of hostility towards those identifying as followers of Jesus Christ.

Followers of Christ were persecuted, in the first century, by the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian, from the mid 50’s to the mid 90’s.

Why was the early church severely persecuted?

Why did Christianity prevail during that persecution?

How does that help us prevail, no matter what, as followers of Christ today?

Three aspects of culture at the time of Christ:

1. Idolatry (household idols, regional deities, guild gods). Expected to respect everyone’s idolatry (belief system) and it is woven into the economy.
2. Infanticide. Devaluing human life, exposure laws, slavery.
3. Sexualization. Sex was for entertainment. It was acceptable to be married and have sex with anyone in a lower social class. Monogamy was not the norm.

The Countercultural Teachings of Christ

1. Idolatry? No. There is one triune God, Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth.
2. Infanticide/devaluing humanity? No. Every human life is created in the image of God and must valued as the sacred imago dei. From womb to the tomb, humanity is sacred.
3. Sexualization? No. Sex is the celebration of the marriage covenant between a man and woman. This covenant is created by God and sex is a beautiful expression and celebration of the marriage covenant.

“Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”

The culture rebelled against these ethics of Christ. Christians were persecuted and killed, yet Christianity continued to grow exponentially. Why?

At least three reasons:

1. Grace
2. Prayer
3. Love

Grace. = God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. 4200 religions exist on planet earth. Only one is about God’s grace saving us.

Prayer. The door is always open for the children. Prayer is constant access to the Father’s guidance and resources.

Love. Not emotion-driven infatuation, but sacrificial commitment to the well-being of others.

Man-made beliefs systems… Instead of resulting in loving God, loving people, and using things, they result in using God, using people, and loving things.