because we are doing what God desires for us to do. Not because of our name or how we look or what we are wearing, it is because of Jesus and Jesus in us, that we are being hated. I want to tell those who are people pleasers or those who desire to be liked that doing the will of God will not win you any popularity contests or draw everyone to you. It will do the opposite. This is why you read of so many of God’s Children who walked alone or walked with just a few here and there.
But he who endures to the end will be saved.
We are to continue the work we have been given to do, until God tells us, just as Jesus told the disciples, to stop, shake the dust off and move on. So often, there are those who abort the assignment before God gives the command to stop. There are those who flee at the first sign of opposition and wonder why they are led back into the same situation, at a different location. We are to stay and complete the assignment and not leave until God tells us to leave. There are lessons for us to learn, strength and courage to gain, blessings to receive and blessings to dole out, there may be assignments within the original assignment. We will never know, unless we stay the course and move only when we are told to do so.
When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. Once again, we are not to flee until we are commanded by God to do so.
Therefore, do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. In II Timothy 1:6-8, we are told, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” We are not to fear those that are against us. We are not to cringe at the words they speak against us. In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus instructs us, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” There it is, we are to pray for them, just as Jesus tells us to. I’m not done. In Matthew 6:14-16, it says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Finally, Jesus prayed for His accusers on the cross, by saying in Luke 23:34, “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Jesus shook it off and completed the assignment that He was sent to fulfill.
Jesus KNEW we were going to be persecuted in His Name’s sake. This is why He prayed for us to the Father, after praying for the disciples.
In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.” And what is the result of our being one? “… The world may believe that you have sent me (John 17:20-21, ESV). How often do we miss this incredibly important point? Jesus is clearly saying that our visible unity—our relationship to one another—is essential to showing the world that there is a God and He has sent His Son. When the church, according to Jesus, is living in visible relationship with each other, it is then that the world will know that God the Father has sent the Son. Is this not the desire of every faithful, gospel-centered Christian?
In John 17:20-24,
Jesus prays to the
Father for us.
He asks the Father, “I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind - Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are -I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me. Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, Having loved me Long before there ever was a world.”
Wow. Jesus prayed our strength before He went to the cross. He prayed to dwell within us, just as the Father dwelled within Him. He wants us to be one heart and one mind. He wants the world to believe that God sent Him. He wants us to have the same glory He had. He wants us to mature in oneness. He wants to give the godless, evidence of His existence and of His love for them. He wants to love us. He wants us with Him. He wants us to see His Glory. He wants us to know we were loved before the world was formed. He wants this for all of us.
I want each of you to take a moment and bask in these Words.
How can Jesus’ prayers be answered if we are against each other??? Me personally, I want to take this time to ask for forgiveness.
Lord, I pray right now, that You forgive me for the words and thoughts, I have had against those who are against me, those who seek to persecute, to those who seek to abort the Vision and assignments you have poured in me to complete. Forgive me Lord. Empty my heart of the feelings, the anger, the frustration and anything I am feeling that was caused by them, Lord. Lord, I pray right now that you pour Your Fruit of the Spirit in me, as never before. The love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. Create in me a new heart, Lord. These blessings, I ask in Your Son Jesus Name. Amen.
This is why before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave this last commandment. In Matthew 28:16-20, we have “The Great Commission. “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the
Shaking the Dust Off