https://youtu.be/Osr3BIa_D0I

Matt 2:16-23 Attempted Murder of JesusDo not expect to be honored in a world where your master was crucified- CH SpurgeonThis portion begins the persecution of Jesus. From the time he was born, he hadn’t even done anything, the Governmental powers were out to Kill him.We talked before about Herod propensity for Sin- and here we see the fulfillment of itPeople have always had a problem with Jesus. The world will never fully accept himWe can, and should do whatever we can to lead people to him, but to think that somehow, the world is going to fully accept him and his ways, is a false theology- JESUS was rejected- HE was crucified- we aren’t more powerful than he was-Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess eventually- but persecution is our inheritanceI want to talk to you about persecution today.  What it is, how to prepare, what to doYou will hear many people today say that Christians are not persecuted-

David Guzik came up with - 10 Myths about Persecution that I want to share briefly

1. It’s only persecution when people are getting killed. No Joseph and Mary were persecuted when they needed to flee- when Paul was beaten. When you lose a job, or are ostracized.

2. As long as someone else is persecuted worse, we shouldn’t complain. No persecution is persecution. Is Racism in your apartment complex ok because you weren’t killed?

 3. Persecution has to be violent to be real persecution. Bullying is persecution. Words. laws

 4. Persecution has to directly impact everyone before it is real persecution. Not all Christians in the world are treated the same- and it’s the same in America- Right now we are treated different than other states in the union

 5. Persecutors openly hate Jesus Christ and Christianity. Not always- sometimes they seem friendly- but they don’t agree with what we believe silently. Some churches help the persecution

 6. Christians are persecuted without reason. No we are- we are against what they believe

7. Christians should always silently accept persecution. No- Paul spoke up- we can speak up

8. Persecution always unites the Church. Not always- some Christians stand by in silence

 9. Persecution never “Works.” Sure it does- Christians are afraid to speak up!

10. Persecution is the worst thing that can happen to Christians. No- we’ll live through it

What does persecution look like

People think its being burned at the stake- but its bullying on social media. Its ostracizing by people at work and in community. Often at the hands of professing Christians who have abdicated their role in society under the banner of tolerance, acceptance and love. Infiltration in public schools/unisLaws that directly affect Christians and the Institution of the church-zoning, gathering, taxesRhetoric that is pervasively attacking Christian institutions and beliefs on media and TVChristians believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven- exclusive claim to truthBelieve that marriage and sex should only be between a married man and womanMale headship patriarchy- ACB too- finagled herself out of the kitchen to a Supreme court seat.The nuclear family as God’s ideal for the world- I’m a child of divorce- but its not the IDEALWe don’t believe in abortion- We don’t believe in evolution- We believe that Sexual immorality is wrong- drunkenness and drug abuse is wrong. We hate pornography and lawlessnessThe people who are the actual power brokers in this world say that Christians are oppressive, but ABC, NBC,CBS, FOX, CNN, Every city newspaper,