PERSECUTED FOR CHRIST’S SAKE – Part 2

 ANCHOR OF LIFE DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

TUESDAY, 17TH MAY, 2022

Author: PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE

General Overseer

Topic: PERSECUTED FOR CHRIST’S SAKE – Part 2

MEMORIZE: “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” Exodus 15:3

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 44:19-26

“Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.”

EXPOSITION:

Persecution is like fire that removes the dross from gold or silver. As the Scriptures says, “or he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:2-3. “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” Pr 25:4. Sometimes, God permits persecution to rock His Church when the church is busy doing the wrong things. For example, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem till they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and power. After then, they shall be His witnesses starting from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth – Acts 1:8. But they increased greatly after the empowerment to more than eight thousand people, yet they remained in Jerusalem. But when the persecution arose and took the life of Stephen – the man full of the Holy Spirit and courage, everybody scattered, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere they go. As a result of this, we found Philip in Samaria with great revival that brought great joy to the entire city. Acts chapters 7 and 8.

The furnace of affliction and persecution is so dreadful that we don’t usually see the will of God in it. No one desires it because it challenges our faith and the greatness of our God. It threatens as if God is not powerful to fight for His name and defend His children. Whenever God is silent to the affliction of His children, it is regarded as if He had cast us away. David said, “O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment… Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.” Psalm 60:1-3, 11-12.

This is the good news, our God is not weak nor blind that he cannot see, as the enemies of the cross think. He is only waiting for sinners to repent and come back to Him. He is both Merciful and Awesome, the Consuming fire. He is a man of war and the Lord of hosts. He is the mighty man in battle. All we need to do as children of God is to keep trusting Him, calling and waiting for His intervention at this moment of intense persecution of the Church until He will arise as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He will tear in pieces all His enemies and judge the world in righteousness.

PRAYER POINT:

Let us pray like David and Jeremiah: Use Jeremiah 15:15, Psalm 44:19-26 and Psalm 68:30 for prayer against the persecutors of the Christians in Nigeria and all over the world, that God should arise and fight for His name, judge the wicked and convert our persecutors to bearer of His cross unashamedly in Jesus name.

Jeremiah 15:15 “O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.”

Psalm 68:30 “Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.” 

Psalm 44:19-26 “Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.”

DAILY BIBLE READING IN A YEAR – Job 11-14.

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