Standing Firm in the Faith: Encouragement Among Believers

A World Hostile to Truth

For decades, the Communist Party in China has sought to stamp out Christianity.

Yet the Church has not only survived — it has thrived.

During Mao’s Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), every visible church was closed.

Many thought Christianity would be extinguished in China.

But believers met secretly in homes, caves, and fields, treasuring scraps of Scripture passed like contraband.

Today, more than 100 million believers call on the name of Christ in China — far outnumbering the Communist Party itself.

Persecution could not silence them; it multiplied them.

Iran is among the most hostile nations on earth toward Christianity

A World Hostile to Truth

Conversion from Islam is considered treason, punishable by death.

instead of shrinking back, the Church has exploded in growth.

Researchers now identify Iran as hosting the fastest-growing evangelical population in the world.

Believers gather in secret, often at great personal risk, many testifying to visions and dreams

Persecution stripped the Iranian Church of buildings, budgets, and programs — but it could not strip them of Christ.

What remains is a bold, Spirit-filled, multiplying Church.

A World Hostile to Truth

Go back further still: in the first three centuries of the Church, Rome unleashed wave after wave of persecution.

Christians were fed to lions, burned alive in Nero’s gardens, crucified, and imprisoned.

Caesar demanded to be hailed as lord, but Christians confessed only, “Jesus is Lord.”

That defiance cost many their lives.

Yet as Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” By 300 A.D., the gospel had spread from slaves to senators, until Constantine’s Edict of Milan ended the bloodshed.

Every attempt to crush the Church has only caused it to burn brighter.

Acts 17:6 ESV

6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

A World Hostile to Truth

And now, Church, the storm is no longer “out there.”

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has struck the American Church like a lightning bolt.

many in the Western Church have lived in the delusion that persecution was always somewhere else

We prayed for them, maybe gave a few dollars, and then went back to padded pews in climate-controlled sanctuaries.

the time for casual Christianity is over.

let us not be naïve: the enemy will not let up. His assault will increase.

We must be awake, not asleep.

Aware, not distracted.

Awaiting the return of our King, not lulled into compromise.

I. The Courage of Faith in the Face of Danger

Luke 1:38 ESV

38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

I. The Courage of Faith in the Face of Danger

When the angel Gabriel told Mary she would bear the Son of God, her answer was simple but staggering.

Mary was perhaps thirteen years old, betrothed to Joseph, living in a small town where everyone knew everyone’s business.

Her “yes” to God could have cost her everything: her reputation, her engagement, her safety, even her life.

The Law prescribed stoning for adultery.

Yet Mary did not flinch.

Brothers and sisters, this is the kind of faith we need today.

Faith that does not negotiate terms with God.

Faith that says, “Yes, Lord,” even when obedience leads straight into hostility.

Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom is a reminder that saying “yes” to truth will cost us something.

Jesus warned us plainly:

John 15:18–19 ESV

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 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.

I. The Courage of Faith in the Face of Danger

Do not be surprised by hostility.

Expect it. Prepare for it.

Embrace it as confirmation that you belong to Christ.

To stand firm in this age of hostility means that we must resolve in our hearts that obedience to Christ is worth more than the approval of men.

We cannot bow to the cultural Baals of our time: sexual immorality, political corruption, destructive ideologies, or the seductive promises of technology that lead us into bondage.

Like Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s food (Daniel 1:8), we must purpose in our hearts that we will not defile ourselves with the king’s lies.

II. The Power of Encouragement Among Believers

After Gabriel’s announcement, Mary “arose and went with haste into the hill country” to visit her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39).

Why? Because encouragement is a lifeline in times of great burden.

Imagine Mary’s situation: misunderstood by her family, questioned by her community, perhaps even doubted by Joseph.

She needed a believing companion.

Elizabeth, pregnant by a miracle of God in her old age, understood.

And when the two women met, Elizabeth’s baby leapt in the womb and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42, ESV)

The burdens of Mary’s calling were met with the blessings of Elizabeth’s encouragement.

This is a powerful picture for us today.

In an age where hostility against the Church is rising, we desperately need each other.

Hebrews exhorts us:

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

II. The Power of Encouragement Among Believers

Isolation is the enemy’s tactic.

He wants you alone, discouraged, vulnerable.

But encouragement among believers strengthens us to stand firm.

During World War II, soldiers in foxholes endured unimaginable hardship, not just because they had weapons, but because they had brothers.

A soldier once said, “I didn’t fight for the flag, I fought for the guy next to me.”

In the same way, the Church must be a band of brothers and sisters, holding the line together.

Don’t retreat. Don’t hide.

Run with haste to the fellowship of believers.

Speak words of blessing.

Lift each other’s burdens. Encourage with Scripture.

Pray together. Worship together.

This is not the time to forsake gathering.

This is the time to double down on it.

III. The Battle We’re In: Not Flesh and Blood

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

III. The Battle We’re In: Not Flesh and Blood

The temptation in times of hostility is to think our enemy is political, social, or cultural.

But the apostle Paul reminds us:

Yes, there are corrupt politicians, destructive ideologues, violent activists, and tech oligarchs building systems of control.

But behind them are spiritual forces — the architects of deception — laying the groundwork for the Beast System.

This is why compromise is deadly.

If we think this is merely a political fight, we will fight with political weapons and lose.

But if we recognize that this is a spiritual war, we will take up the armor of God: truth, righteousness, readiness to preach, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:13–17).

Nehemiah’s builders in Jerusalem held a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other (Nehemiah 4:17).

They built the wall while ready for battle.

III. The Battle We’re In: Not Flesh and Blood

That is the posture we need today: building the Kingdom with one hand, defending against deception with the other.

Guard your mind with truth.

Refuse the lies of culture, media, and academia that deny God’s Word.

Guard your heart with righteousness.

Guard your witness with readiness to share the gospel.

Guard your faith with the shield that extinguishes the enemy’s flaming darts of fear and doubt.

IV. The Call to Bold Gospel Witness

Here is the heart of the matter: the Church is not called merely to survive;

we are called to proclaim.

The enemy’s strategy is not just to harass the Church, but to silence it.

In Acts 4, Peter and John were commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus. Their response?

Acts 4:19–20 ESV

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Romans 1:16 ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

IV. The Call to Bold Gospel Witness

Church, now is not the time for silence.

Now is not the time for safe sermons, watered-down doctrine, or politically correct platitudes.

Now is the time for bold gospel proclamation.

In the early centuries of the Church, Christians were dragged into arenas and told to renounce Christ or die.

Many went to their deaths singing hymns.

Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

Charlie Kirk’s death must not intimidate us into silence;

it must ignite us into proclamation.

Share the gospel with urgency.

Preach Christ crucified and risen.

Call sinners to repentance.

Stand on the authority of God’s Word.

Refuse to apologize for truth.

V. The Hope That Anchors Us

How do we endure hostility without despair?

By fixing our eyes on the promises of God.

When Mary sang her Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55),

she declared that God scatters the proud, brings down the mighty, and exalts the humble.

Her song was not naïve optimism;

it was Spirit-inspired hope.

God was still sovereign.

Luke 1:46–55 ESV

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

V. The Hope That Anchors Us

We need that same hope.

Revelation 19 shows us the Rider on the White Horse — Christ, returning in glory, conquering every enemy.

Revelation 21 promises a new heaven and a new earth where death, sorrow, and pain are no more.

In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian staggered under the burden of sin until he came to the Cross.

There, the burden loosed from his shoulders and tumbled into the grave, never to be seen again .

That is our hope: Christ has already carried our burden, defeated our enemy, and secured our victory.

Take your fear, grief, and weariness to the Cross.

Encourage one another with the hope of Christ’s return.

Remind each other that this world is not our home.

Anchor your soul in the promises of God.

Conclusion: The Church Must Decide

We stand at a crossroads.

The Church in America can either cave to cultural pressure or stand with Christ.

We can either blend in with the darkness or shine as lights.

We can either be silent or proclaim.

The blood of martyrs cries out — not for vengeance, but for boldness.

Their witness demands that we pick up the torch and run the race set before us.

So I charge you today:

Stand firm in truth. Do not compromise with lies.

Strengthen one another. Encourage, build up, and bear one another’s burdens.

Preach the gospel. Boldly, urgently, unapologetically.

Fix your eyes on Christ. Our hope is not in politics, technology, or culture, but in the coming King.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:58 ring like a trumpet blast for us today:

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Conclusion: The Church Must Decide

Church, the hour is late, the darkness is deep, but the light of Christ shines brighter still.

Stand firm.

Stand together.

Stand bold.

The world may hate us, but our Savior has overcome the world.