Preaches Christ Despite Persecution

In 1997, Warren and Donna Pett, both in their forties, sold their 96-year-old family farm and 110 Holstein cows in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, after sensing God’s call to the mission field. They said goodbye to their children, a grandchild, their parents and other relatives who lived near the farm, then boarded a plane to go serve strangers in a faraway land. They felt God nudging them to use their decades of farming experience to teach agriculture to African youth and share the gospel along the way. Warren and Donna moved to Uganda’s Yumbe district, which at the time shared a border with Sudan (now South Sudan). Yumbe is the only majority-Muslim district in Uganda, which is predominantly Christian. It is also one of Uganda’s poorest districts. They began teaching with a group called Here Is Life.

Sometime after Warren and Donna started teaching students, Here Is Life’s director at the time, Isaac Anguyo, received threatening letters from local Islamic leaders. Fearing the school’s growing Christian influence, the Islamic leaders ordered him to shut down the school. On the evening of March 18, 2004, Warren and Donna had returned to their hut when two armed men with covered faces and military fatigues came to the compound searching for the leaders of the school. When Warren heard the commotion and opened the door to the hut, the gunmen ordered him and Donna to come outside and kneel next to each other. They then shot them to death.

Jesus had warned his disciples that everyone who followed him would face hatred and persecution. He told them, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10:22–23 NIV). It happened to Peter and the others. Warren and Donna suffered persecution too. Every day 12 Christians are arrested or imprisoned simply because of their faith in Jesus. Every day 13 Christians die as martyrs, losing their lives because they refuse to deny their Savior. Following Jesus is a matter of life and death!

We don’t have to worry about our faith being a life or death matter, right? We live in America. We have the protection of the first amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” We can freely gather on Sunday morning, or whatever day of the week we choose, to openly and loudly worship our God, praise him in our hymns, and talk about him whenever and wherever we please. Or can we?

Persecution doesn’t disappear simply because the United States Constitution declares that everyone is free to practice their religion as they please. It simply shifts and adapts to the place and time. In countries without a powerful guarantee of religious freedom physical persecution of Christianity runs rampant. Here in the United States, the persecution we face is much more subtle.

Paul warned Timothy that the sinful world will follow three steps as it moves farther and farther away from Jesus and his Word. “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3 EHV). That time came even as Paul was writing to Timothy, and it still happens today. The month of June has been designated as Pride Month. God’s Word calls pride a sin. Three weeks ago we heard James’ words: “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6 EHV). Pride Month offers LGBTQ+ individuals an opportunity to proudly display their choices for the world to see. It’s also promoted as a month for all of us to accept and approve of their choices. They don’t put up with God’s sound, healthy teaching about human sexuality. They defy God’s definition of marriage, and expect that everyone else should do the same.

Paul shared the second step. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3 EHV). They listen to doctors, lawyers, university professors, and spiritual leaders who tell them what they want to hear. Let’s be clear. The Bible says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16 EHV). It also promises, “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16 EHV). God loves everyone. That includes every single member of the LGBTQ+ community. It includes everyone who struggles with same-sex attraction. It includes you and me and our own pet struggles and sins. God’s love doesn’t excuse or ignore our sins, but in some cases that’s exactly what some spiritual leaders have done. They have altered God’s beautiful promises and teach that God doesn’t care who we love or how we use our bodies. As long as you love someone nothing else matters. The final step? “They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:4 EHV). They turn “God is love” into a new credo – their own personal myth – “Love is love.”

We’ve talked a lot about “they.” How about “us”? What do “our” itching ears want to hear? We want to hear that God doesn’t care about our personal choices either. So it doesn’t matter where I go on my computer or what I watch on Netflix when no one else is looking. I can let my temper get the best of me with my co-workers or my wife. I don’t have to listen to my parents. No one has the right to tell me what to do. I’m a believer. I come to church every Sunday. I try to be a good person. God won’t hold me accountable for the things I do wrong. He loves me! Can you hear what we’ve done? We don’t put up with sound doctrine – with the truth that God lays out in his Word. We want to hear what we want to hear, not what God has to say. So we turn aside to myths – our own made up stories to make ourselves feel better.

It is so easy to get off track. We’re ALL guilty of it. We’re ALL sinful. We are ALL on the same path to eternal destruction. That’s what makes Paul’s final instructions to his friend Timothy so important for all of us today.

Paul had met Timothy on his second missionary journey in the city of Lystra. He invited Timothy to accompany him on the rest of his journey, and Timothy became like a son to Paul. As he wrote these words Paul was dealing with persecution. He had been arrested in Rome and thrown into the Mamertine Prison. His cell was a hole in the ground. Paul had stood trial, and the results were not good. He knew his life would end very soon, and so he wrote this letter to Timothy. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1 EHV). Paul lived the reality that sharing the gospel was a life or death proposition. He wanted Timothy and every single pastor in the future to know how important it was to share Jesus no matter what, so he called on God himself, and Jesus Christ, the judge of the living and the dead, as his witness.

“Preach the word. Be ready whether it is convenient or not. Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2 EHV). What was Timothy’s number one priority as a pastor? Preach the Word! Paul didn’t tell him to preach a message about political opinions, or personal choices, or love. He simply said, “Preach the word.” That’s my solemn charge as your pastor. God called me here to tell you what he says in the Bible. So every week on Monday morning I review each reading for next Sunday. On Tuesday I meet with 4 or 5 other pastors online and we dig into the Greek or Hebrew. We translate, study, and share. On Thursday I listen to a podcast that focuses on the sermon and outline my thoughts for what God shares in that section. On Saturday morning I sit down and write. The entire time, I am using the Word – God’s Word!

Paul’s second piece of advice? “Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV). “Be ready whether it’s convenient or not” (EHV). There are days it’s not convenient to share God’s Word. Pastors get tired, or sick, or fall asleep, or go on vacation. When the call comes with a question, or a problem, or a death, God calls me to be ready to share the Word. It’s my job to give you what God says in those moments of need and heartache.

Paul also said, “Correct, rebuke, and encourage.” He didn’t say, “Tell people what they want to hear.” God called pastors to tell them what they NEED to hear. Sometimes that means I have to correct you when you’re headed in the wrong direction. Sometimes it happens in Bible study. Other times I need to redirect you with a choice that you’re making. Not that way, this way! Here’s what God’s Word says.

Sometimes as your pastor I need to rebuke you. Do you know what “rebuke” means? To tell someone they’re wrong and they have to stop. That’s hard to do! It’s easier to just ignore it and let it slide. Then I am ignoring God’s Word. I need to tell you when you’re disobeying God for the salvation of your soul!

I can’t forget to encourage. Life is hard. We all need a little encouragement. There’s no better news that I can share than the fact that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that he was willing to give up everything to save you! We can start every day fresh with that amazing truth!

God calls me to cover every interaction where I share his Word “with all patience and teaching.” I am not better than you or smarter than you. We’re all sinful human beings. We all need to hear God’s Word, sometimes over and over again. I need to communicate it to you patiently, carefully, to the best of my ability so that you know who Jesus is and what he’s done for you!

Don’t forget about the ultimate goal every pastor has in mind when we preach the Word. Paul could see the end from his prison cell. He said, “You see, I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6–7 EHV). The drink offering was the final part of an individual’s sacrifice to God. It was a way to say thank you and to praise God for all of his love and forgiveness. Paul’s life was coming to an end. He had given himself as a living sacrifice, and now he was being poured out. It was time to depart, to pull up the tent stakes, pack up his belongings, and head for his final destination. Paul had given it his all as he fought to preach the Word. He never gave up. He ran hard, training himself to keep going, eyes focused only on Jesus. He had kept the faith – Paul had spent every waking moment guarding and protecting the beautiful message Jesus had entrusted to him. Paul had preached Jesus Christ, crucified for the sins of the world, and raised back to life so that we could be declared 100% innocent in God’s eyes!

Why would Paul go through all that – the fight, the race, the struggle, the persecution, even death? “From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8 EHV). Paul was far from perfect. He even called himself the chief of sinners. The crown of righteousness, the crown of a right relationship with God, waited for him thanks to Jesus!

That crown is waiting for all of us – for everyone who celebrates Pride Month, for everyone who struggles with any kind of pride, or anger, or lust, or laziness. No matter what sin has enslaved us, no matter what persecution we face, we have hope because Jesus loves sinners. He loves you. He loves me. He sends us pastors who preach the Word to us and point us to Jesus and Jesus alone. He sends pastors to confront us when we’re wrong, to turn us back in the right direction, and to encourage us in our everyday lives. Jesus’ love is our priceless treasure! No matter what we face today or tomorrow, remember that crown is waiting for you, and no one can ever take it away! Amen.