What True Disciples Should Treasure Most

Would you think it a blessing to be one of His chosen disciples?

! Would you consider yourself to be a really blessed person if you had been chosen by the Lord Jesus to be one of His inner circle, His chosen disciples? That's a little different, isn't it, when you begin to think about it? And I would suggest to you that it all depends on how you define blessed.

And that is exactly the point, the point of this text. Because let's just be honest, for most Christians living in the Western world, particularly in America, blessed is defined by a home of your own, two cars in the garage, a job that you love and that pays a pretty good salary, a great retirement plan, a wonderful family, loads and loads of good friends and not an enemy in the world, and, of course, good health. Right?

What? I mean, with that definition that I just gave you, or any definition that's similar to that, you may add a few things, you may subtract a few things, and so forth, but any definition of blessingness that is like that, with that definition I guarantee you that if you had been called to be one of Jesus' disciples, it would not have been very long before you found yourself saying, wait a minute, I didn't sign up for this. True. But here's the clincher. You are called to be one of His disciples.

Did we forget about that? That's exactly what we are called to. If you're a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are His disciple. He chose you, called you, saved you. You are one of His disciples.

And so here is, then, what all disciples must know. And I would say that many do know. Many do know, especially Christians in China, for example, they know this, and Christians living in the Muslim world today know this. They know, and we ought to know also, that the kind of true blessedness that Jesus promises, offers and promises His disciples is something totally different from the kind of blessedness that the world looks for and longs for and wants, and the kind of blessedness that many of us desire more than anything. It's totally different.

Now, in this set of events that took place there on the side of a mountain, Jesus intended to prepare His disciples, the disciples He had called to Himself and His apostles, He intended to prepare them for the kind of life they were about to face.

And also, not only that, but in doing that, He intended to teach them the definition of true blessedness. And so what about us today? Well, I think it is the Holy Spirit's intent in this passage that I just read to prepare us, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the kind of life that we might expect as true believers, and also to teach us the true definition of blessedness.

So the intent is the same, whether it's the intent of Jesus for His disciples there that day, or it is the Holy Spirit's intent through this passage for us today. It's the same.

All right, now, that is an introduction. Let's just look at it. And I would say to you here in the front end that Jesus is being very wise. Of course, He would be. He's all wise and knowing.

But I would also say that He is being very gracious, very gracious to His disciples that He has called. And so the first thing we need to see here that Jesus' teachings here represent, number one, a presentation, excuse me, a preparation of His disciples. Gave you a clue to the second point, okay?

A preparation. He's preparing them. Jesus is preparing His disciples for what lies ahead of them, very shortly lies ahead of them. In effect, He is saying, here's what you signed up for.

Well, really, here's what I signed you up for. That's what He's doing. It's a preparation. So let's just kind of walk through this, and we're going to run through the first part of this very quickly. Verse 12, now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountains to pray, and continued all night to pray to God. And when it was day, He called, here's the first thing He did after His prayer time. He called His disciples to Himself. He selected a number of disciples.

And from them, from those He called, those He particularly chose, from them He chose 12, whom He also named apostles. All right? Then He names them for us. Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew, His brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas. James, the other James, James the lesser. Here, James, the son of Alphaeus. And Simon, another Simon called the Zealot.

Judas, the son of James. That's not the Judas that we remember, but the other Judas is Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor. So Luke kind of gives us a foreshadowing of what Judas is going to do and become.

All right? So He lists the 12. That's pretty straightforward. I mean, this part of the text, after Jesus' all-night prayer vigil, He calls an undisclosed number of disciples to follow Him, to be His special disciples. We don't know how many there were. Scholars say probably 70.

And then out of these, He chose 12 of His apostles, the inner circle, again, of disciples. And then together, they all come down from the mountain, wherever they were up in the mountain, to a somewhat level place, the Bible says. We're going to see here in just a moment.

This, again, is Luke's record of the Sermon on the Mount. And by the way, I'll give you a heads up. Luke's emphasis, his application of the sermon is going to be different than Matthew's.

And so the Beatitudes would be understood a little bit different. Matthew applies the Beatitudes to the spiritual, who we are as believers spiritually. And Luke applies the Beatitudes in the physical, the reality.

This is what it's going to be like to be one of my disciples. And so this is the Sermon on the Mount. And so they come down, and then apparently there are more, many more of His disciples gathered at this place on the side of the mountain, as well as a huge crowd of other people. That's what He tells us in verse 17.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place. All right, this is not just the Sermon on the Plain. It's still the Sermon on the Mount, okay? But He's on a kind of a level place. The people are seated there.

And He says, it's a crowd, a crowd of disciples and a great, great multitude of people from all around the area. And why had they come? To hear Him.

They wanted to hear what He had to say. And not only that, but to be healed. That also was why they came. Healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.

So they were demon-possessed people there. And they were not disappointed, were they? Because the very next line, verse 18 says, And they were healed. Healed. Tremendous. Marvelous.

And the whole multitude sought to touch Him. They wanted to get to Him. Why? Because they were seeing. Everybody He touched was healed. Demons were cast out.

And so you'd want to get to Him and touch Him. Power was going out of Him. And He healed them. How many? All of them.

This is incredible. Now, you know, I'm moving very quickly through this part of the text. Not because it's unimportant. We could spend a lot of time on a number of key features of this first part of the story.

But really, as awesome as this part of it is. And as significant. Choosing of the twelve and so forth. All these things are important parts to the setting of the stage for some of Jesus' most significant teaching.

And important teaching. And needed teaching for His disciples. He has called His apostles, His disciples, selected twelve.

To be select disciples, apostles. He has once again profoundly demonstrated His sovereign absolute power over the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm of the demonic realm.

He's done all of that and now He's ready to teach. The stage is set. For some very important teaching. Verse 20. Look at it. Then He lifted up His eyes toward His what?

His disciples. That's His focus. Now the crowd, the multitudes, unbelievers, inquirers, searching.

You know, just curious people. They're going to hear the teaching. But He is teaching directly to His disciples. What He has to say is for them. I like the NASB here.

And turning His gaze toward His disciples. The intensity of that. Can you kind of sense it?

The expectation. A lot has already happened. Some pretty incredible things have already happened. And now Jesus is about to teach. And He pauses for a moment. And there He is standing on that level place.

And His disciples are gathered around. And He looks at them. Face to face. Eyes to eyes. The expectation.

The intensity of that moment. And if I might kind of put some words in Jesus' mouth. Now, don't throw a stone at me.

For purposes of kind of highlighting, you know, the transition. Transitioning to what comes next. It is as if Jesus looks them all in the eyes.

And with love and concern. He says to them, each one of them. My beloved disciples.

I've chosen you. And now I must prepare you. For what most surely will come next. He'd be very gracious.

And how does He prepare them? Blessed are the poor. Blessed are you poor. Literally. Blessed are you poor.

Blessed are you who hunger now. In this life. Blessed are you who weep now. Mourn.

Cry now. Blessed are you when men hate you. And when they exclude you. And revile.

Or insult you. Or and cast out your name as evil. They reject your name. Scorn you as evil. Not just wrong.

But evil. For the Son of Man's sake. This is His sermon to them. After selecting them.

Calling them. Selecting them. Here they are. Here's the first thing I want you to know. This is what is in store for you. Because I have chosen you.

To be one of my disciples. This is what I signed you up for. Now how would you feel about that kind of sermon? But this is a gracious act on the part of Jesus.

Jesus. He's being very gracious here. Jesus was preparing His disciples. His immediate disciples. Those there that day. He was preparing them for what will most certainly happen to them.

And historically speaking we know. Did happen. Poverty. Hunger. Sorrow. Weeping. Hatred. From family and friends and nation and more. Torture and death.

No maybe about it. No theory here. Not you better be prepared for what on the outside chance might happen.

This will happen to you. That's what He's saying. But now again. I would remind you. That we too.

Are His chosen disciples. Just as much as those disciples there that day. We too. And yet. Let's just be honest.

We hear this. And it just simply does not connect. Not really. Because none of us here today. Have experienced poverty and hunger and weeping and hatred.

For the sake of Christ. Because of our uncompromising faith and commitment to Christ. Not like the disciples in Jesus' day did experience. Not like most.

By the way. Most disciples living in other countries and cultures of our day. Now maybe one day we will in this country. We have eyes to see it.

I think we see it coming. In fact in some ways it's already here. And maybe. The kind of.

Life the disciples. The early. The first disciples. Lived. And the things they confronted. Maybe that is closer for us. Today. Than we think.

And so. Jesus wants us to be prepared. He wants us to be prepared for that.

I have to ask you. If. That day were to come in your lifetime. Our lifetime. How would it go for you?

That really is what we ought to ask ourselves. How would it go for you? I mean.

Poverty and hunger and weeping and hatred. Because of your commitment to Christ. If that were to happen now. How would it go? You say I don't know.

Well I don't think any of us really know. And yet. We might know. Could know. There's some indication.

Right now how it might go. I'm sorry but. You know it doesn't really take very much adversity for us.

To. Throw up our hands and say. God why is this happening to me? It doesn't take much. Could that be an indication of how it will go for us?

See this passage is important. Even for those of us living in the western world. Where Christianity is still legal today. Although becoming more and more.

Restricted. More than we think. But Jesus is preparing his disciples then. That's what he did then. And he's. Through this text.

He's doing that for us. Today. If we have ears to hear it. Of course there's more to it than that. I mean. Jesus teaching in this passage.

Is a preparation. For all of his disciples. Living then. Living now. Certainly it is. But he doesn't just stop with that. Does he? I mean that's not just the end of it.

He just. Leave it there. It's not. You know. Jesus is not saying. It's just what it is. You know. Make the best of it. You know. Just grin and bear it. We need to go a step further.

Several steps actually. But here's the next one. Jesus teaching in this passage. Is also. A presentation of something.

Not only a preparation of his disciples. But it's a preparation. A presentation. To his disciples. That is. Jesus presents.

Here in this text. In the larger text. He's presenting. A very stark contrast. Between. Two ideas. About. True blessedness. Two very different ideas.

He. That is. He presents. Two very. Different. Definitions. Of blessedness. Blessedness. And happiness. And. And they're presented here.

Not side by side. Of sense. But one over the other. They're presented though. Technically. In parallel. With one another. In fact. Exact parallel. Let's look at it.

On the one side. We've already read this. A couple of times. On the one side. Verse 20. Blessed are the poor. Blessed are you. Who hunger now. Blessed are you. Who weep now. Blessed are you. When men hate you.

And exclude you. And insult you. And scorn your name. And then on the other side. In exact parallel. Verse 24. Woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are full. Woe to you who laugh now.

Woe to you. When all men speak well of you. All right. So. Exact parallel. Right. Poor. Rich. Hungry.

Full. Weeping. Laughing. Men speaking well of you. Or hate you. Men speaking well of you. Exact parallel.

So on the one side. Poverty. Hunger. Weeping. Hatred from man. And Jesus says of that group. Blessed are you. We say blessed.

Blessed. And then on the other hand. Rich. Well fed. Laughter. Loving one another. Loved by one another. By everyone.

And Jesus says of that group. What? Woe to you. Woe to you. What. What. What are we to make of that? Is Jesus saying that a life of poverty.

Is the only way to blessing? Is Jesus saying that a life of hunger. And near starvation. Is the pathway to true blessedness. If you are happy.

On the other hand. If you are happy. You are not blessed. If you are loved by your fellow man. Then you are not blessed. Is Jesus saying that to be wealthy. Is to be cursed.

Is that what he's saying? Well no. No he's not. Let me give you a couple of things. That Jesus is saying here.

That help us. Kind of get to the bottom of this. In the first place. Jesus simply wants his disciples. To know the difference. Between God's definition of blessedness.

And the world's. That's what he's saying. As one preacher put it. What true happiness looks like. And what looks like true happiness. But isn't. Second.

And this gets us closer to. The whole idea here. Jesus. Wants. In a sense. To shock. His hearers. And today his readers.

He wants to shock us. In fact. Really insult us. We might even use the word. Mock. He's mocking the world.

Because. He knows that. What he is teaching. Is the exact opposite. Of what most people are thinking. What most people have bought into.

Including. Christians. I mean. We've. Our thinking is different. So. So much so that.

We just can't. See it. What he's actually saying. And so it takes. I think. It takes a kind of. Shock treatment. In a sense.

A verbal. Shock. And mental. Shock treatment. For us to see it. What's this? Blessed are the poor. And cursed are the rich. That just doesn't make any sense.

And it's meant. To shock us. Now. I would have to say to you. Forget. Try to forget. For just a moment. That you have been in church. Nearly all of your life.

And. And try to forget. That you've been taught. A thing or two. About. The Bible. And about. Biblical values. And spiritual things. And such. Just kind of. Maybe kind of.

Put that aside. For a moment. And put aside. For a moment. What you know. Or think you know. About what Jesus is really saying here. Put that aside.

For a moment. And think how the crowd. Would have reacted. That day. But wait.

Think about how. Crowds today. Would react. Think about. How some of you. Are reacting. How we might be prone.

To react to this. Jesus. Is. Actually. Mocking. The world's. Definition of blessedness. A definition.

That many of us. God help us. We can't help it. We've bought into it. It has become. Almost the American way. He means.

To shock us. To offend us. He says. Here's. What a blessed person. Looks like. Dirty. Hungry. All the. Dirt poor. Rather.

Hungry all the time. Weeping and mournful. Friendless. And here's what. A cursed person. Looks like. Filthy rich. Fat and sassy. Happy. Jovial. Loads of friends. That's. That's what Jesus is saying.

I mean. On the face of it. All right. Let's. We're not going any further. Than that yet. On the face of it. Without looking. Any deeper. Without considering. His meaning. Spiritual meaning.

And real meaning. Then. This is what he has said. All right. That's just it. But you see. It takes. This kind of. Kind of jolt.

Kind of a. Shock. For us. For us to. Begin to think. Deeper. To make it possible. For us to. Think deeper. Into the meaning of this.

Because. As true disciples. Of Jesus. We may. Very well. Have to endure poverty. And to be a disciple. Of Jesus. We may very well. Have to go hungry. We may.

Very well. Someday. Have to suffer grief. And sadness. We may very well. Someday. Have to endure. Intense persecution. From those. Who. Who. Once were our friends.

And who are our family members. That may very well happen. So. Listen. What if. All right. Let me ask you. What. If. You. Were to become. Poor.

Or. Poorer. Someday. Because. Of your commitment. To Christ. Would you. Still be blessed. What if you.

Do go hungry. Someday. Because of your. Uncompromised. Uncompromising. Commitment. To Christ. And you. Go hungry.

Could you. View that. Kind of life. As truly. Blessed. Blessed. And what if. You do experience. Great grief. And sorrow.

In this life. Because. You faithfully. Follow the Lord. Jesus Christ. Would. You think. It. A blessed life. Would you.

And what if. Your family. Were to be. Were to ostracize. You. And hate you. And even. Consent. To your. Imprisonment.

And torture. And even. Death. Because of your. Uncompromising. Faith. In Jesus Christ. Which is. What's happening. In a lot of places. In the Muslim world. Today. What if.

That happened to you. Would you. Would that. To you. Be a blessed life. Of course. I know your answer. So. Of course. But are you really.

Thinking that way. That's what. Jesus. Wants his disciples. To think. To know. You see. Here's the point. If.

Wealth. Of any. Degree. Is what. Defines. Blessedness. For you. Then woe is you. Because all that.

Can be lost. Then what are you. And where's your blessing. That's the point. Isn't it. If fullness. And happiness.

And if. Acceptance. By all. Is your definition. Of blessedness. Then woe. Is you. Woe is you. I think.

I think that perfectly. Prepares us. For a third purpose. Of Jesus teaching. In this passage. It's not just simply. A preparation. For his disciples. He wants them to be prepared. This is the way it's going to be guys.

It's just the way it is. I don't want you to. Think that I. You know. I've deceived you. Promise you something. That's not. Going to happen. It's a preparation.

But it's not just that. And he's not just simply. Presenting side by side. These two. These two philosophies. On blessedness. So that we can see.

The stark difference. Between the two. And then. Suddenly. Our eyes will be open. To what true blessedness. Is. It is that. But it's not just that. Because it goes much deeper.

I think. Third. That his teaching here. Is a. Proving. For his disciples. Approving.

Proving time. Jesus. Looks. Straight. In their eyes. The eyes of his disciples.

And he says to them. Literally. You will be poor. You will be hungry. You will be weeping. You will be. Hatred. All because of me. That's what.

He's saying. But this is not. A curse. This is a blessing. So. Verse 23.

What? Rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice in that day. That's the proof.

That you really know. What blessedness is. Rejoice. In that day. What day? The day poverty overtakes you. The day. That you have little food.

And you're hungry. The day. That you have. Have a reason to weep. And mourn. Because your life is hard. For Christ. And. The day. That your family. And your friends. Reject you.

Says rejoice in that day. And what? Leap for joy. I tell you. This just. This just doesn't. Make sense.

Does it? Not in our way of thinking. Leap for joy. Why? For.

Indeed. Your reward. Is great. In heaven. I tell you. We. As American. Christians. We need to be more.

Heavenly minded. Your reward. Is great. In heaven. The disciples. Of Jesus. Day. They have.

A completely. Different. Value. System. From. That of the world. And not just. In Jesus. Day. But. Disciples.

Today. Must have. That same. Kind of. Value. System. That's completely. Different. From the world. And we can define it. This way. Who we trust. And what we treasure.

Who we really trust. With everything. And what we really. Treasure. More than anything. That's the value system. That disciples. Of Jesus Christ. Are to have.

How it's to be defined. Now we have to fill in the blank. Don't we? We trust God. More than anything. More than man. More than ourselves. And who do we treasure. More. Than anything else.

The Lord Jesus. Christ. And through him. God's. Unmerited favor.

That's true. Blessedness. Disciples. Disciples. Have a completely. Different. Different. Value system. And therefore.

We are to have. A completely. Different. Way of looking. At life. And the things. That happen. In life. And so. Here's the lesson. The proving. Now listen. This is very careful.

The proving. Of who you. Really. Trust. In this life. And what you. Really. Treasure. Above all. Else. The proving. Comes. When.

Something. Happens. To rock. Your world. Picture this. With me. Just picture this.

I mean. We have a picture. Kind of a mental picture. Of Jesus. Standing on that kind of level. Place. On the side of a mountain. And multitudes. Gathered around him. And his disciples. Up front and center. We have kind of a mental picture.

Of that. But also. Picture Jesus. Standing. In some. Maybe some. Desert. Kind of desert. Place. In Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or maybe it's in Iran.

Or Syria. Or Yemen. Or some place like that. Or India. Some place where. Where. Where. Where. Muslims. Islam. Rules the day. And just picture Jesus.

Standing there. And he has. Seated around him. You know. Some former. Muslims. Who are now. Born again. Believers. And they're.

Brand new believers. They've just been saved. Gloriously saved. And he. Has them seated around him. And he says. With love and concern. He says. My. Beloved.

You will be poor for my sake. But. Yours is the kingdom of. God. And you will be hungry for my sake.

Yes you will. I want you to know that. But one day. You will be filled. And you will weep.

And mourn. Because your life for me. Will be hard. But. One day. You will laugh with joy. And. My dear disciples.

My. Beloved disciples. Be prepared for this. This is what he's saying. Be prepared for this. You will be hated because of me. And. You will be ostracized by your families.

And you will be mocked. And cursed. And worse. But. You will rejoice in that day. Because you know something. You know something.

You know. That your real treasure. Is something. No one can ever take away from you. You know. That your real treasure. Is in heaven. And it's me. It's me.

In my favor. No one can ever take that away from you. And no one can ever take you away from me. Picture Jesus standing in a one room apartment.

In a. Secret place. In Shenzhen China. And gathered. There are say. 30. Brand new. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They're excited about their faith. They've trusted Christ. They're gathered there. And Jesus has called. Them to himself. And he says to them. My dear.

Beloved. You will be. Poor. And hungry. And weeping. And hated. Because of me. Your government. Will hound you.

And spy on you. And harass you. And disband your churches. And imprison your pastors. And leaders. But rejoice. Rejoice. When that happens to you.

Rejoice. Leap for joy. Because great. Is your reward. In heaven. And that. Is what will prove. Who you trust.

And what you. Treasure. Above all else. Do you get it? Picture Jesus here.

Today. Picture him. Standing before us. And saying. To us. You are rich.

And you are full. And happy. And loved. By family. And friends. Why. Then. When you suffer. Even the common.

Things of life. You say. Why me. Lord. Why is this. Happening to me. I didn't sign up.

For this. Who do you trust? What is your treasure? That's the point.

Jesus said. In Luke. 1234. For where your treasure is. There your heart. Will. Be. Also. See.

It's a proving. A proving. Of his disciples. And again. I say it. The proving. Of who you really trust. In this life. And what you really. Treasure.

In. Above all else. That comes. When something happens. To rock your world. One more thing. Very quickly.

Because. Some of us are thinking. You know. I get it. I do. I get it. Difficult for me. To see.

This kind of thing. Happening. But I get it. And I also get it. More importantly. I get. That. Maybe my.

Definition. Of blessedness. Is not correct. And I'm not so sure. That. If I were to lose. Everything.

I would still. Consider myself. Blessed. I'm not so sure. I have it right. In my mind. And in my heart. That. Jesus is enough. And if that's all. I have. Then I'm blessed.

Beyond measure. I understand. The concept. But I'm not sure. I get it. I'm not sure. That I. Can experience that. Help me here. Well I don't have to help you.

Because Jesus will help you. And so the final thing. I want you to see. Is. A prayer. For his disciples. We should not miss.

The significance. Of what Jesus. Did. Before everything else. Here. What he did. Before he called. His disciples. And his apostles. What he did. Before he healed.

The sick. And. Cast out. The demons. And so forth. And what he did. Before his teaching. We shouldn't miss. What he did. Before all of that. What did he do? He prayed.

Verse 12. Now it came to pass. In those days. That he went out. To the mountain. To pray. And continued. Now this can't be right. All night.

All night. In prayer to God. All night. Jesus prayed. What did he pray about.

Do you know? Well. Luke doesn't tell us. Does he? I think probably.

Because nobody was there. Nobody heard him pray. Nobody was there. To write it down. So that it could be recorded later. So we don't know. What he prayed. About. But then maybe we do.

I think it's safe to conclude. That what happened next. After this all night prayer time. What happened next. May tell us what he prayed about.

And there are several things. That we could. I think. Safely say. That Jesus prayed about. He prayed. About the. Selection of his disciples.

And his apostles. And yet. You know. Jesus is God. Knows all things. Jesus knows the thoughts.

And intents of the heart. I'm not sure. You know that. He didn't already know. Who he was going to select. But I don't know. He prayed.

So. It's safe to say. He prayed. About the selection there. Prayed all night. He and the Father. The Holy Spirit. Would be there too. Because. The Holy Trinity. Are so.

One with one another. There's no separation. So this is. This is an incredible time. Of communion. Between all. Three members. Of the Godhead. And so. There's a big thing. Going to happen.

That day. The next day. Selection of apostles. And so. He prayed about that. I think. He also prayed. About what he would teach them. That's.

Clearly what he did. That day. He. He. He taught them. He had them all before him. And he taught them. And so prayed. About what he would teach them. What. What should I teach them? I think he.

It's safe to say. That he prayed. About. How he would. Prepare them. For the. Hard life. That was ahead of them. He prayed.

That they would receive it. They would. They would. They would. They would. They would. Embrace it. I mean. All of these are. You know. Viable possibilities.

But you know what I think? I think he prayed. That. They would trust him. And that they would.

Treasure him. More than even life itself. That was the most crucial thing. They needed. The rest of it is just simply.

Mental. Information. Albeit spiritual. Albeit. Very important. Life changing. Transformative. And so forth. But. And even.

They're receiving it. And understanding it. And saying. Okay. I'll take that. Even that was not. The hardest part. The hardest part. Was. For them.

To trust. Jesus. More than anything else. And treasure him. More than anything else. In life. Even life itself. I think that's what he prayed for.

Serious prayer. All night prayer. So that when the disciples. When their world. Would be rocked.

To its very foundation. And they suffer the loss. Of everything. Even their lives. That they would be able to rejoice. And leap for joy. That's what he prayed for.

I think. Jesus prays. That for all of his disciples. He prays that for you.

So you see. You can get it. Understand it. And say okay. Okay.

That's the way it should be. But apart from. The prayers. Of our. Great high priest. And.

Intercessor. And divine enabler. We could never do it. In fact. I don't think any of us know.

Really. What it will be like. When the day comes. If the day comes. In our lifetime. When we are truly persecuted.

Like most Christians have. Since the beginning. I don't know that we really know. How. We would react. And we might even be thinking. In our own. Minds and hearts.

You know. I think I probably fail miserably. I mean. Look at me now. I have a headache. It lasts a little too long. And I'm thinking. God. Why are you letting this happen to me?

and so maybe we're convinced that I just couldn't do it well good news Jesus is praying for you praying not just that you'll understand it now and commit your life to it now but praying also that when you do suffer the loss you'll have the grace you need for it isn't that wonderful Jesus not only prepares us for it but he is there enabling us when it happens it is for us to trust him