“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore we do not lose heart.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16
Pressure can take your life down or it can take your life up. It has the power to sink your life to the pits of your problems, or it has the power to make your life soar with possibilities! There is a huge lesson that we can learn from the recent sinking of the Titan sub last month. Sadly, it failed and many lives were lost, including a teenager on board. The depth that it dived was incredible! But at the same time the design of the structure was supposed to be able to handle the strong pressure it came under in deep water. The Titan’s pilot and passengers thought they were safe, and indeed, in shallower waters they would have been. Under enormous deep-water pressures – well over 2 tons per square inch – that trust tragically collapsed. With that example in mind, pressure on Christians all around the world is colossal. But we know that persecution is nothing new for Christians. Today, about 200 million believers face pressures by gangs and governments, dictators and despots, to surrender their faith in Christ. But as we also know, even the pressure on Christians in the West is becoming stronger. Anti-Christian pressure is rising by the day, and it’s going to require fortified faith that maybe we’ve never practiced before, so we don't give into the pressure. The question for us is this – will we hold firm to our faith, or will we cave under the pressure the world puts on us? Sadly, cracks are starting to developing in the hull of Christianity in the west. For many Christians today, the answer to the pressure is to equalize it by cracking the hull a little bit and letting polluted water flow in. We are letting the contaminated waters of evolution flood our schools. We are letting the poisonous waters of sexual immorality get through the cracks. We are letting the sewage water of worldly experts and philosophies seep into our minds. We are letting the muddy waters of liberal theology with its humanistic scholarship and salvation trickle into our churches. The pureness and beauty of biblical Christianity is the vessel that we ride in around here. And I remind you that this vessel we ride in is our protection against the outside pressures because, Christ our Captain, is at the helm of His sovereign ship as we sail the soiled seas of our society. The only Lord and Savior, revealed in God’s Word and represented through the ages of historic Christianity, is seated at the right hand of God doing His work on our behalf! This vessel has stood the test of time, including persecution and martyrdom. Christ Himself is our strength. We are just as safe with Him as the disciples were during that stormy night at sea on the Galilee. What more could we need? I think what I’m saying to all of us is this – don’t cave to the pressure of worldly thinking. Don’t fall for the lies of Satan, who is the god of this world. Don’t crack open the window of compromise and don’t push open the door of cowardness to anyone who might be pressuring you and your stance for Christ. Never forget that for every problem we face we have thousands of promises in God's Word to hold onto when the flood waters of temptation rush in. God bless you! Pastor Dave
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