Episode 129: Strength in Persecutions

In the name of the glorious Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

Spirit, forever Amen. Glory be to the everlasting

mercies which sent you to us, O Christ, the Light of the world

and the life of all. Give us wisdom by your law and

enlighten our impulses by Your knowledge.

Sanctify our souls by Your truth and grant that we may be

obedient to your words and may fulfil Your commandments at

every hour. O you who enlightens the

rational with the knowledge of your greatness, do enlight, O my

Lord, our thoughts, that we may meditate upon your holy and

divine scriptures at all times. O Lord of all, Father and Son

and Holy Spirit, forever Amen. Peace be upon you, beloved.

Welcome one more time to another episode of Double Edged Sword.

Those who've been following these series, we've we're

studying the book of Acts and which is basically the history

of the church, the history of the holy Apostolic Catholic

denoting universal Church, the one holy Apostolic and universal

or Catholic Church. And a recap from last episode.

We chapter 14, we read that witness that Saint Paul and

Barnabas are healing a man that was lamed from his mother's womb

and he couldn't walk. Saint Paul gazes at him and

commands him to stand and he does at that very moment.

Then the crowd go wild and they proclaim they, these are gods

that have come down and taken flesh.

It must have been an understanding of, you know, the

coming of the Messiah. But Zeus and Hermes, these are

gods that have come down and take, you know, have taken on

flesh. And they came out and they

wanted to, you know, offer oxen and, and, and place reefs on

their, on their necks and on their heads.

And, and we read the Saint Paul and Barnabas run out to them

tearing their robes because it was, it was quite serious.

They were tearing their robes. They ran to the crowd so that

they could turn them away from this, you know, the offerings

and the, and the, the fanfare and the, and the worship of, of

man. And Saint Paul speaks about that

immediately, immediately at the very outset, we learned that

they overthrew this evil because they knew this is an act of

evil, you know. And they said they didn't simply

say we are men, they said we are men like you.

You don't worshippers. We are not gods, we are men like

you. And then so that they should not

be seen honoured as gods, Saint Paul goes on to same verse 15.

We bring you good news that you should turn from these vain

things. What you've been doing before,

the paganism, the idolatry that you were in before, we're here

to teach you to, to steer you away to you, you know, to bring

you to the light and away from the darkness of idolatry.

So to steer you, turn you away from these vain things to a

living God. Not a God that is seen in

statues and in trees that are dumb and that are, you know,

deaf and can't do anything to a living God who made the heavens

and the earth and the sea and all that is in it.

Want to continue? And we're going to read 2 verses

today because I want to speak a little bit more and, you know,

elaborate more on those because there's some some important

points in the significance in those.

So verses 19 and 20, chapter 14 Acts.

But there came there Jews from Iconium and Antioch.

Now these are Jews that didn't believe, they weren't faithful,

they weren't believers. But there came their Jews from

Iconium and Antioch and stirred up the people against them, and

they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him

to be dead. Howbeit, as the disciples

gathered around him, he rose up and entered again into the city.

And the next day he departed from there with Barnabas, and

they came to the city of Derby. So they stone Paul, you know the

Father's right. And the reason why they do this

is because when they are converting all these pagans and

you know, the Gentiles to the Jews, they were hitting the

Gentiles to Christianity, to Christ, they were hitting the

pockets because the Jews would make money from these people,

right? They were their prophet in many

ways. Let's not going.

So wasn't that because the Jews, the, the Gentiles believed and

they came to worship them. And then they, they come out to

grab the pole and you know, they want to kill him.

No, that was one of the reasons. But they were cutting their

grass, as they say, I believe, right.

Nothing has changed, beloved. Nothing has changed today.

Maybe not so much stoning, but words that are worse than

stones. Christianity is being attacked

when there are, when there are Christians who who preach the

word of God, who care about those who are in the darkness,

who are dead in their sins and they want to bring to life with

Jesus Christ. And we see this is evident

today. I think it's in England, in

London, all our Christian brothers and sisters who are

preaching on the streets. What are the police?

Do they come and they pull out. They, they, they, they, they

battle with them. They take out their microphones

and their speakers and they command them not to preach, but

it's OK for prayers to be in the middle of the street, Disrupt

traffic to be gathered around the cathedral because there's

messages there, beloved, right? I saw a video.

They're all around the cathedral.

And then they're in their hundreds dressed black and their

mats are on the crown and they're praying.

And then the church bells start to go off, Right.

But I assure you that the same police officers would not say,

I'm sorry, this is disrupting traffic.

So pack up your your stall and move from here.

But I I'm sure that they would go into the cathedral and say

stop these bells. You know why?

Because these are people that hate the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is evil that gets exposed by holiness.

And when evil is being exposed by holiness, what does it do?

It's try. It tries to kill holiness, but

no one can kill holiness because holiness is a nature of God.

Praise and glory be to his name. They stoned this Saint Paul, and

he must have played dead because they thought he was dead.

Why did it give this man so much courage?

And he gets up and goes into the city again.

Now you may say, yes, he went into the city.

He was then treated by the apostles.

The next day he left because his life was in danger.

But we're going to read that they're going to come back again

one more time. They travel 60 miles to Derby,

and then they travel back another 60 miles and come back

to the same city. Why?

Because he was because out of out of his mind.

No, because they remembered the words of Christ were echoing in

the in the minds, in the hearts of the apostles.

Beloved Matthew chapter 5, verses 11 and 12.

Matthew 5:11

Blessed are you when men reproach you and persecute you

and speak against you every kind of evil falsely for my sake.

Then be glad and rejoice, for your reward is increased in

heaven. For in this very manner they

persecuted the prophets who were before you.

They persecute the prophets before Christ.

They persecuted the apostles, and they persecute the church

today. But what is it that we need to

do? We are being persecuted,

beloved, Maybe not so much stoned.

Only in some of these Middle Eastern Islamic countries,

you'll be stoned, you'll be put to death if you preach Jesus

Christ. But what are we to do?

We that are not stoned, but we are hurt by the words.

You know, they say sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but

words will never hurt me. Well, yeah, about me, fine.

But when it comes to the truth, it disappoints, beloved.

It annoys. It disheartens.

What do we do? We do the same as Paul did.

He did not hate those who cast the stones.

We don't read that. As they were casting the stones,

Paul was saying, I will get you, may the Lord strike you.

Ouch. It would have been in pain.

It would have been in pain. But he didn't hate them.

They dragged him out. He entered again.

What? To be friends with them?

To be friends with those who had done him evil, who had wronged

him. Beloved now again, if we may

say, Yeah, but that was only for a few hours.

Maybe because the next day they've gone.

But, well, why didn't he? Didn't he just go to Derby

after? He was he, he, he, he.

He wasn't dead. He.

They dragged him away. Then they left him.

He could have ran away. He could have escaped, but he

didn't. Those who wronged him harshly,

Beloved, he didn't hate. What do we do?

We don't hate Those who wronged us harshly.

We don't say I've done nothing wrong.

You see, Saint Paul didn't say, what are you doing?

Why have you done this? What have I done wrong?

No, we don't also whinge and murmur and and, you know, sour

crepes, sour grapes. What have I done?

No, actually, when you do something wrong, the scriptures

tell us. Saint Peter says if you've done

something wrong and you suffer, well, it's your fault.

You made your bed, you sleep in it.

You do the crime, You do the what is it?

You do the crime. You do the walk or something.

You do the walk. Sorry.

You do the crime, you do the time.

Yeah. Thank you, Stephen.

He's not just the producer, he's my lexicon.

Why don't we murmur? Because Christ did nothing

wrong, beloved, to be crucified during his trial before the high

priests in John chapter 18, verses 22 to 23, we read.

John 18:22–23

And when he had said these things, one of the gods who was

standing there struck Jesus on the cheek and said to him, Do

you answer thus to the high priest?

Jesus answered and said to him, If I have spoken evil, testify

of the evil, but if I have spoken correctly, why do you

strike me? He didn't say what have I done

wrong? No, I've spoken correctly and

Christ had every rights. Beloved, he is God.

Saint Paul may have said a few things that that had ticked them

off, may have said a few things that because he is a human

being, remember, remember he said I we are men like you.

He may have said a few things that aggravated them, the

manner, the tone, but Christ did not deserve whatsoever.

What wrong did Paul do to be stoned?

He was announcing a Kingdom. He was leading them away from

error, from death, to bring them to God, to life, to eternity, to

salvation. These things are worthy of

crowns, beloved. These things are worthy of

proclamations, worthy of 10,000 good things, and were not worthy

of stones. These things were worthy of

blessing Paul, glorifying God for Paul because of what he was

saying. Yet having suffered, he did the

opposite. He did the opposite to what was

expected. And this is the splendid

victory, beloved. Now there must be alarm bells

going off, those who read their holy scriptures, and I pray that

you do, Don't just wait for the Double Edged Sword podcast or

any other podcast that you listen and all these memes of

priests that are great. They're amazing.

My brother, the Catholic priest, the Orthodox priest, they have

such amazing memes. Don't just wait for those.

Open the scriptures and read, read.

If you are listening and you don't open the scriptures and

read, you are in error, beloved brother and sister and don't

say, well, how does he know I'm speaking generally?

Obviously right? Alarm bells must be going off.

Luke chapter 6, verse 29 and to him who strikes you on your

Luke 6:29

cheek, offer the other. This is what Jesus means by

that, not that you go and give your cheek and once some someone

has slapped you, you turn the other cheek and say please slap

me one more time. This is silly.

That's not what Jesus means. This is an example of when they

slap you on one cheek, turn the other.

They stoned him, yet he went back into that city and yes,

he's going to leave. He's going to travel.

They're going to, I should say there that is Saint Paul and

Barnabas. They're going to travel 60 miles

away from Iconium and then they're going to come back one

more time. Why?

Because He loves them, because they just just slapped him on

the cheek, He's going to come back and turn the other cheek,

not to prove any point, but just to bring them to Christ, just to

bring them to the truth of the gospel, which is Jesus Christ.

They go back again just as Jesus did, beloved.

In Luke chapter 4 verse 31, Jesus talks about paranorm.

Luke 4:31

Jesus went down to Capernaum. Now Jesus is God, He knows who

will reject him, who will receive him, and who will not.

So when he was going down to Capernaum, he knew that they

were going to reject him, but yet he still went.

He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was

teaching them on the Sabbaths, knowing that he they were going

to reject him. Because in Luke chapter 10 verse

Luke 10:15

15, he says, And you Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will

be brought down to Hades, but still went and visited that

place. Why?

To heal them. Just as a true physician visits

His patients so that he could heal them, so that they could

come back one more time, so they could, you know, walk away from

the stubborn stiff neck that they were to come to the truth

of Jesus Christ. Paul did the same.

So too did Saint Paul and Barnabas.

More bells, more bells. Yes, yes, you may be saying

those who read the Scriptures, Robbie, 1 Corinthians 11/1.

That's why Saint Paul says imitate me, just as I also do

the Christ. This is how he imitate.

He imitated Jesus Christ. He went to those cities that he

knew would reject him. He continued to speak to the

Pharisees. He continued to talk to them and

tried to bring them. Now when I say tried, I don't

mean that Jesus failed. No, they rejected you know when

he talks about which of you, if your donkey falls in a a pit,

won't go on the Sabbath and bring him, You know the the

story goes and then immediately after that one more time when he

walks into Simon's house and there is a man with Dopsey and

he says is it is it? And he heals him and he said

again, he, he goes back and says, if your donkey, which of

you will not take out your donkey and to take it to drink

on a Sabbath? He wasn't, he wasn't, you know,

he didn't constantly try to rub them the wrong way.

No, he wanted to show them and tell them and teach them and

somehow touch their hearts so that they could come back.

He wasn't their enemy. He didn't hate the Pharisees.

He didn't hate those who who rejected him.

He continued to preach to them. He washed Judas's feet, knowing

that he is going to betray him. Judas didn't know.

He knew that he's going to betray him.

Yet he still washed his feet. And there was a chance there was

an opportunity for Judas to have repented.

Well, then Christ wouldn't have died.

Well, yes, it it, it has been written.

It had to be written. But Judas didn't know.

He looked him in the eyes. So Saint Paul does the same,

beloved, he imitates Jesus Christ.

We too imitate me, Saint Paul says, just as I also do the

Christ. Let's imitate Paul.

Let's be like Paul, that when we are harshly done wrong, we don't

hate. We try to reconcile, we try

again, and we try again to win over our enemies.

It's not easy. I mean to that it takes a lot of

faith, it takes a lot of love, it takes a lot of obedience to

Jesus Christ, obedience to God. And then when we reach that

completion in our obedience to Jesus Jesus Christ, completion

in love and mercy, then we will conquer.

We will truly be imitated of Christ.

And then we can rightly say to our friends and our family and

our you know, whoever we have a relationship with be imitator of

me because I'm I am imitating Saint Paul and Saint Paul has

imitated Jesus Christ. Galatians chapter 6 verse 17.

Galatians 6:17

Saint Paul writes from now on, let no one trouble me, for I

bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

I bear in my body. I have suffered Amen to that.

He was stoned, you know. We too need to work on bearing

Jesus's marks on our body. We need to work on receiving and

accepting the spittle if we get to that point.

We need to try to bear Christ's nails in our hands and our feet.

If we get to that point, we need to bear Christ's rejections,

those who rejected Jesus Christ, we need to also bear those

marks. Be prepared to be rejected for

goodness, for holiness, not rejected because you've done

something wrong. No, Saint Peter teaches us that

if you've done something wrong, if you're in error and you

suffer, well, you know, that's it.

And I mentioned this. No, but for Christ's sake,

bearing Christ's marks in our bodies, for Christ's sake, for

our sake and for others sake, we need to bear the falsehood and

the the, the, the the untrue statements and the the ridicule

and the disrespect that Jesus received while he was on earth.

We need to be prepared to say that we are bearing those marks.

Do you know why, beloved? Because Jesus Christ.

Who we see and read during the Scriptures and we watched all

the films, you know, bearing so much pain and suffering and

rejection, but was glorified. That glory is awaiting each and

every one of us. If we do bear those marks, if we

walk the paths of Jesus Christ, if we walk the paths of the

apostles, that's why Jesus tells his apostles, he who receives

you receives me. Why did he say that?

He who receives you receives me. He who receives me receives him

that sent me. Why?

Because God, Jesus was God Incarnate.

The love, the grace, the mercy, the compassion, the

righteousness, the holiness, the justice of God, we see and we

saw in Jesus Christ. So then when we then go to the

apostles and we see the life that they had lived and receive

them, hence we receive Jesus Christ.

That's why Saint Paul says, imitate me.

The apostles were tortured, Every one of them, the

disciples, all of them were martyred except for John, who

lived the longest and suffered the longest.

We don't read of any apostles or any of the apostles that died.

Yes, a natural death, all in peace and harm.

There was no suffering. No, they all suffered.

The holy Saints have all suffered.

The Saints of this beloved Church, beloved, the Assyrian

Church of the East, the Church of martyrs, the martyrs of the

Assyrian Church, of these and other Apostolic and Orthodox

churches, their Saints have bared the marks of the Lord

Jesus Christ. Why?

Because they are now glorified. They are glorified before

Christ. They're in paradise.

They are now interceding, beloved, they are now

interceding to the Lord. How long, O Lord?

How long? And they are caring.

They are seeing our torment, our suffering, our persecution, and

they are crying out to the Lamb. But there will come that time.

They came that time with Saint Paul says I have fought a good

battle, I've done it, it's time for me to receive.

He was so confident, yet in other places he says whether I

have attained it or not, I don't know.

One thing. I know that I've focused ahead.

I don't look back. I continue every day.

But when time came, he was confident.

He knew that his blood was going to be shed and he said I am now

ready to receive that crown. This is why Saint Paul and St.

Barnabas went back again. They're going to go to Derby and

they're going to come back again.

Why not? So they could be troubled and

not so they can be persecuted, So that they can be glorified?

No, but to focus on preaching the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's what we must do, beloved.

Every church, it's incumbent of every church to preach Jesus

Christ, to bring to the knowledge of the truth of the

Lord Jesus Christ. You see.

You see where the world is with Christ?

Nowhere in darkness, total darkness, beloved.

And all these philosophies now all these legislations, all

these laws that are just evil, and evil is being called good,

good is being called evil. Do you know why?

Because evil will always come out second best.

Righteousness, goodness, holiness will always prevail.

So regardless of what they do to us, beloved, they can.

I was preaching at the Mariosa Parish on Sunday.

You know, they may come a time we don't know.

It's so unpredictable. And especially in this state,

they may come a time where they will enforce that there be no

crosses on the churches. You know, I heard the Emmanuel

Hospital here in Turlock, there is a statue of Jesus Christ that

they are now working on. Removing that statue.

Don't fret. Remove any statue you want,

remove any crosses you want, remove.

Remove all these holy symbols that we have, the Holy Cross of

our Lord. Remove it from before my face,

before my sight. Remove it.

Remove the statues, you know, remove the, the, the scriptural

verses, remove them from the heart before my gaze and my

sight. But you cannot listen to me.

Oy oy, listen to me, whoever you are.

You cannot remove Jesus Christ from my heart.

You cannot, you cannot remove it.

I don't care about your laws. It doesn't concern me.

Remove whatever you please. You cannot remove Jesus Christ

from our hearts, from our minds, from our life, from our love,

from our being. You cannot remove Jesus Christ.

The only thing you can do, Mr. Politician, Mr. Allah Akbar, the

only thing you can do, the best that you can do is put me to

death. And I thank you for that.

If I am made worthy to die for my Lord and am my Savior Jesus

Christ, be it through stoning, be it through the the sword, or

be it through your legislations, I thank you for that.

Because you have sent me to my Lord to be glorified with my

Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Zeal Saint Paul and

Barnabas and all the apostles and all the Saints of the Lord

had. Beloved, don't fret.

It's disappointing. It's this.

You know why it's disappointing? Because it's so disappointing.

Because you laugh at those ridiculous, ridiculed people who

think that by taking down a cross or by trying to stone St.

Paul, let's say Saint Paul had died.

Then there's Barnabas, there's the other 70 who are all over

the world preaching. And the preaching of Jesus

Christ continues and continues and continues and ridicules

every other false faith that is out there.

Beloved puts to shame every other false faith.

So let's not fret, there may be no stones now in these

countries, in the Western countries, you never know.

Maybe that you know, you hear of some places want to introduce

the Sharia law. That means stoning to death.

That means if you don't accept the faith, you must either pay

ajiza or you will be murdered. Simple as that.

OK, let's not, you know, be wishy washy that it is, It is

right? So maybe one day stoning will be

and we may be stoned to death. Glory be to Christ our Lord.

Glory be to Christ our Lord. Every stone is a Pebble in the

Kingdom of heaven, is a flower budding in the Kingdom of heaven

for you and I, for those who die for Jesus Christ.

So let's continue, beloved, now not so much.

Go out and preach. Not many people are called to

preach. Remember you know who who sends

preachers? The church, not because I've

read the Bible cover to cover, I'm going to go to the preach.

No, you have no authority. The church has to give you the

authority, right? But our lives in general, you

fall down, especially when Satan drops you, when Satan stones you

and he thinks you're dead. Just get up again and say in the

name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who is my life is my savior.

I will continue my life regardless of what I have done,

regardless of how grievous my sin is, regardless of how

unforgiving the society will be because of my sins.

But I know I have a merciful God.

I know there is a process. I know there is a hospital.

There is a spiritual hospital that I can go in and enter with

my drug addiction, enter with all my spiritual evil

addictions. And that hospital who has

renowned physicians that are the priests and has one amazing or

many amazing medicines, which is confession, repentance,

absolution and the Holy Eucharist being the body and

blood of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.

And you walk out of that hospital all healed and, and you

know, rejuvenated, revitalized one more time and you continue.

And if you fall again, you go back to that hospital one more

time. You continue, you continue,

beloved, you continue until the Lord returns.

This is the strive, this is the the striving in our life to

enter that narrow gate. For when the Lord returns, those

who are waiting outside, mocking those who are waiting outside,

mocking those who are striving to enter or those who are

waiting outside saying, you know what, I've got some time.

Let's, let's just enjoy ourselves a little bit.

When the Lord returns and the door, when the master returns

and the door is closed, we'll be knocking.

They will be knocking. Oh, you know, I didn't know.

I didn't know. No, you must have known because

you were my enemy. So you knew me or I didn't know.

Well, you decided not to take heed to the Double edged sword

podcast and all these other, you know, the church sermons and the

Gospels itself. You decided not to hate to it.

Well, I do not know where you are from, beloved.

Let me close with this now in the Middle East, in the Middle

East, you know, going back right now, it's that that ethics, that

the ethics, the, the, the manners are not there anymore.

When a father would say to the son, you've really disappointed

me, The sun's day was blackened, you make Kimberly, that's what

we say. The sun was so broken hearted

that he disappointed his father. All right.

And he would do everything to win that love, that trust, to

heal the Father's heart. Now this is a father who Jesus

says who are evil. We all die, but how much more

when we stand before the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, Jesus

Christ, your Lord, my Lord, your Savior, my Savior, your God, my

God. When he says to you, listen to

this, stop. No more vacuuming, no more

washing dishes. Pull aside.

Pull aside if you're driving, listen.

Listen when Jesus says to you, Eddie Shamir, I'm Tony Yoursip,

John Agatha, Elizabeth, whoever it is listening when Jesus says

to you, I do not know where you are from.

Depart from me, workers of evil. That is alarming, Beloved, as

opposed to come, good and faithful servant, enter the

Kingdom which was prepared before the beginning of the

world. For all the righteous beloved,

for all those who've loved the Lord, praise and glory be to His

name, now and at all times and forever.

Amen. We hope you enjoyed this week's

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Until next time, God bless you all.