Brian Labosier © May 12, 2021

1. Don’t be surprised by spiritual opposition.

We should expect opposition, persecution, and tribulation.

• John 15:19 “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.”
• John 16:33b “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome [literally conquered] the world.”
• Acts 14:22b “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
• 2 Timothy 3:12-13 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

We also need to recognize that God has raised up the specific political leaders we have today, just as He did various kings in the Old Testament and the Roman Empire in the New Testament.

• Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Italics added)
• 1 Peter 2:13-14 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him [God] to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”  (Italics added.)

2. Pray to God for His help.

Pray for our country and its leaders.

• 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

Confess the sins of our nation and our churches.

• Here we find Daniel’s example in Daniel 9:3-5 “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.  I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly band rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.” 
• See also Daniel’s experience in Daniel 9:15-21, where verse 20 tells us how he was “confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel.”
• Nehemiah 9:2 tells us how the post-exilic Israelites “confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers” when they reentered the Promised Land.

Pray for “all people,” as Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:1, including even our enemies, as our Lord instructs us in Matthew 5:44.

• We need to pray specifically for those with whom we might disagree with the most, as well as those who may persecute us in different ways.  Who knows whether some of them might yet come to faith in God’s perfect plan?

Pray the Psalms, especially the laments.

• Lament how dark these days are.
• Lament how weak the church is.
• Lament how God is so frequently dishonored, despised, and rejected.

Pray that God would bring awakening and revival even at this late hour.

• Matthew 7:7a “Ask, and it will be given to you.”
• James 4:2c “You do not have, because you do not ask.”
• Psalm 85:6 “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”

Pray for the calling of Christian leaders who can lead us forward in this present day.

• Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38 “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
• Pray specifically for the training of Christian leaders as institutions of higher education are under special attack today.

In everything, pray that Christ will be lifted up and that people would see His glory

• Remember Jesus’ promise in John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

3. Stay on track spiritually ourselves.

Nurture our own relationships with God through Bible reading and other spiritual disciplines.

• 1 Timothy 4:7b “train yourself for godliness.”

Reckon ourselves dead to (1) sin, (2) our old selves, and (3) all the attractions of this present world, as well as alive to Christ through our union with Him.

Worship the Triune God, both individually and corporately with others.

Recognize our own need to grow spiritually is something we have to do for the rest of our lives.

Be wise stewards of our time and ministries.

• Ephesians 5:15-16 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
• Pray that God would give us a godly ambition to seek Him and serve Him.

4. Seek the good of our country where God has placed us.

• Jeremiah 29:7 “But seek the welfare of the city [Babylon] where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
• In particular, we are to pray specifically “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2b).
• Certainly “seeking the welfare” of where God has placed us involves sharing the gospel, pointing others to God, and ministry in general.

5. Share the gospel of Jesus Christ as our primary offensive resource

• Paul tells us “the sword of the Spirit…is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)
• Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
• 1 Corinthians 1:23 “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.”
• 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:18 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

6. Focus on discipleship

• Discipleship is not optional.  Jesus tells us, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
• Jesus also warns us a number of times about who “cannot be [His] disciple” in Luke 14:26, 27, and 33.
• We also need to remember the Great Commission focuses on making disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
• All of the biblical “one anothers” are important means of mutual discipleship.

7. Preach and teach as if our lives and the lives of our people depend on it, because they do.

• Perhaps the greatest need in our churches today is preaching and teaching that is not only biblically-based, but also God-centered, Christ-exalting, and Spirit-empowered.
• Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).  This truth is Jesus, who Himself claimed to be “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).  We need to hear about Jesus in order to be born again, and then we need to hear more about Jesus Christ in order to grow and mature as believers. 
• Colossians 1:28 “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
• 1 Timothy 4:16 “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

8. Offer hope

• God is specifically described as the “God of hope” in Romans 15:13 and hope is related to the gospel in such verses as Colossians 1:23 “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.”
• One of the biggest needs in our world today is genuine hope.  A secular mindset cannot produce lasting hope because it ignores God and is built on faulty assumptions.  Sooner or later things will not work.  It is only through the reality of changed lives that there can be hope.  As Christians we need to learn how to reach out to broken and confused people and point them to Christ as the source of true, lasting hope.

9. Focus on developing fully functioning local churches.

• One of the key strategies for growth and outreach of the early church was demonstrating a genuine love for other people.  It was often said in the early church, “See how these Christians love one another.”
• Work at creating genuine community.  Local churches should be living demonstrations of community that the world cannot duplicate. 
• Practice hospitality and other one-on-one outreach efforts to others around us.

10. Take the offensive in the cultural war.

Seek to win the culture war by providing better ideas.  John Lennox said in an interview: “The reason why people leave churches is that their questions aren’t being answered.”  God has given us answers.  We need to provide them to people who are searching.

Keller reminds us, “Christian leaders must dedicate time and talent to developing strategies that will overcome these barriers to a gospel movement in our generation” (How to Reach the West Again, page 12).

We need to be on the lookout for hungry people, listen to them, talk to them, and engage them.  Our culture is not monolithic.  Each person is unique and different.  God has people everywhere who are ready to listen and among His elect.

Remember we are on the winning side.

• Matthew 16:18 “…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Above all, seek God’s glory in everything we do.