A Little Bit of Persecution...

But not from whom you would expect…

Things have been heating up out there. We have had several confrontations recently that almost got physical. Not on our end mind you, but some of the people we are talking to have grown hostile to the Gospel. It’s not the “sinners” either. The kids who are God haters, the atheists, the drunks and the pagans are just fine. They still meet the Lord and get their mail read. It’s the religious kids that have started persecuting us. Mainly good old Baptists with a few angry Catholics in there for good measure.

Basically, there beef with us is, and I quote, “How can you come out here, thinking that what you believe is right?” Or, “How can you come out here talking to people? Religion should stay in the church!” We almost can’t believe our ears at some of the things coming out of these “Christians” mouths. They have started now to openly oppose us, telling us that we can’t reach young people like this; we should just wait for them to come to church. They are offended that we would say that Jesus heals, saves and delivers. They tell us that God isn’t inside of us (Antichrist) and that God doesn’t heal anymore. They tell us that we shouldn’t read the Bible literally. They tell us that they are going to heaven, so leave them alone, ignoring the fact that there is absolutely no discernable difference between them and the “sinners”. They all smoke, get drunk, take drugs, sleep around and cuss us out. My favorite line from last weekend was, (screaming at the top of his lungs, mind you) “I GO TO CHURCH, I AM GOING TO HEAVEN, NOW F&*% YOU!”

Classic. Absolutely classic. Paul was right when he wrote:

Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these. II Timothy 3:1-5

We have already had a few moments of terror as they (the powerless “Christians”) have threatened to beat us up with baseball bats. We stare them down and tell them, “Do what you have to do and we will do what we have to do”. They hate us because we remind them that attending church is not having Jesus King and Lord of your life. When asked if they are serving Jesus with all of their heart, they reply, “I go to church” and we fire back, “So does the Devil!” That really doesn’t make them happy, but we are reminded of this fact: Jesus was crucified by the morally elite, not the “sinners”.

The sinners love the Gospel, because they recognize their need. The religious think that church attendance and dropping a few bucks in the collection plate automatically qualifies them for eternal paradise. They have no desire whatsoever to live for God here on earth; it’s all about making it to Heaven with them. So, we have drawn the line. We will win. The power of God will triumph over dead religion. The hypocrites have a choice: Repent and give their lives completely to Jesus or get out of the way.

This is War!