日期﹕ 11/25/2007

經文﹕ 《使徒行傳》 5 ﹕ 40-42

題目﹕ 保障 , 舒適 , 消遙快活

主旨﹕ 因神將天國的盼望賜給了信徒 , 所以我們能以喜樂來面對為福音而受的苦難。

引言

“ 保障 , 舒適 , 消遙快活 ”是二十世紀末和二十一世紀的標語 。在 1990 年初，丹佛一家教會把自己更名為“幸福教會”。當問道他們為什麼要這樣做的時候，教會的回答是﹕這樣的名字可以吸引人到教會來。是啊，誰會去一個家憂傷或哀傷的教會哪。我們也聽到一些大型教會在向它們的社區作調查時問道以下這個問題﹕“基督教里有什麼東西影響你到教會來哪？”難怪洛杉磯時報的宗教編輯 Richard Ostling 這樣寫道﹕教會已經從“ 榮耀 神”轉化成“ 滿足 人”的教會了。

我們會把教義中使人不舒服和冒犯人的 字句和觀念 拿掉。我們不再願意討論罪、十字架、作使徒的代價和苦難。在“包容”的文化背景下面，我們會很少提及我們的獨特性或基督的絕對性，而把重點放在我們和其它宗教的共同性方面上來。

在這種心態下，傳揚《使徒行傳》第十四章二十二節的經文就會非常困難，或者我們對這段經文乾脆避而不談﹕“ 22 堅固門徒的心，勸他們恆守所信的道，又說：“我們進入 神的國，必須經歷許多苦難。 ” 保羅是在對新信徒們說，跟隨基督會有許多艱難，當然不 是 保障 , 舒適 , 消遙快活 了。

當我們考察聖經的時候 , 我們大概會注意到 , 它在我們最感興趣的事，也就是我們會遭受到什麼樣的苦難方面是相當沈默的 ; 譬如自然災害、 嚴重的財政困難，和疾病。聖經沒有告訴我們為什麼這些苦難會發生 , 但它指示我們怎麼在這些困難之下生活。但是 , 在有關跟隨基督而受苦難方面卻有很多教導。我希望今晨我們可以對作為耶穌基督的見證人而受苦難方面做更深入的探討。如果您對與這個題目想有更詳盡的了解，您可以查閱丹尼斯 ・ 約翰遜的書﹕《在救贖史上的使徒行傳的信息》 。

I •  基督的使徒們將會因神國度里的福音而承受苦難

《使徒行傳》第 十四章二十二節﹕ “ 22 堅固門徒的心，勸他們恆守所信的道，又說：“我們進入　神的國，必須經歷許多苦難。” “必須”這個詞指的是必要的、應當的。我們進入　神的國，必然會經歷許多苦難。在《路加福音》裏，我們讀到耶穌“必須”在他父親的壂裏；他“必須”要到其它城裏去傳教。提到他在安息日所醫治的那位婦人，他說難道 不應當在安息日解開她的捆綁嗎？他必須今天來這里，明天到那里，第三天…。他應當住在撒該的家里。在路加的筆下，“ 必須”這個詞包含有上帝的意志、上帝的期望和計劃的意思。

我們為什麼必須要受苦難哪 ?

1 •  彌撒亞受過苦難

耶穌復活之後，在去以馬午斯的路上，他向兩位門徒解釋道﹕“ 26 基督這樣受害，然後進入他的榮耀，不是應當的嗎？ ” （路加福音二十四章二十六節）在此少許之後﹕“ 45 於是他開他們的心竅，使他們明白聖經； 46 又說：“經上這樣記著：基督必須受害，第三天從死人中復活。 ”（ 45 至 46 節）在《舊約》聖經裏，先知們預言說將要來的彌撒亞是一位受難的彌撒亞。在《使徒行傳》這本書裏，我們注意到，在耶穌升天之後，門徒開始在他們的信息裏講到受難的耶穌這個主題。這位僕人彌撒亞是一位受難的彌撒亞。他受苦難是因為眾人拒絕承認他是從神那里委派來的。

2 •  彌撒亞的使徒們受過苦難

耶穌告訴他的門徒說，跟隨的人必須背起自己的十字架來跟隨他。在路加福音六章二十二到二十三節﹕“ 22 世人為人子的緣故憎恨你們、排斥你們、辱罵你們，棄絕你們的名好像棄絕惡物，你們就有福了。 23 那時你們應該歡喜跳躍，因為你們在天上的賞賜是大的，他們的祖先對待先知也是這樣。 ”在神呼召保羅作為門徒之後，神在 《使徒行傳》九章十六節 告訴 亞拿尼亞﹕“ 16 我要指示他，為了我的名他必須受許多的苦。 ”看來為耶穌受苦是呼召的一部分。不但門徒要受苦難，為耶穌受苦也使用與所有的眾信徒，所有跟隨耶穌的人。保羅在《使徒行傳》十四章二十二節教導年輕的信徒﹕“ 堅固門徒的心，勸他們恆守所信的道，又說：“我們進入　神的國，必須經歷許多苦難。” ”在提 摩太後書三章十二節又寫道 ﹕ “其實，所有立志在基督耶穌裡過敬虔生活的，都必遭受迫害…”

我們的彌撒亞是一位受難的僕人。他所有的信徒都會受苦難，會因他們的信而遭受迫害。

II •  基督的使徒會受到來自四面八方、不同渠道的苦難

我們現在來探討一下什麼是苦難的來源或苦難的原因 。

首先，我們要確定的是，我們受苦不是因為我們觸犯了法律或違反了社會道德。必需要注意的是﹕當我們來到一個新的國家，我們接觸到一個新的文化，或到朋友家作客的時候，我們要細心，要尊重他們的法律、習慣、和傳統。

其次，在《使徒行傳》五章十七至十八節 裏 ﹕“ 17 大祭司和他的同黨撒都該人，滿心忌恨， 18 於是下手拿住使徒，把他們押在公共拘留所裡。 ”我們了解到信徒受到迫害是因為 祭司長們的嫉恨。他們要依此來保護他們的權利、影響、和名譽。

最後，在《使徒行傳》十六章十九節﹕“ 她的主人們看見發財的希望完了，就揪住保羅和西拉，拉到市中心去見官長， ”在這里和十九章 裏 ，門徒因為某些人的欲望落空遭受迫害。他們知道他們發財的源頭被門徒堵死了。

難道今天不也是一樣嗎？當我們在家庭、學校、或辦公室，只要我們和眾人一樣，隨波逐流，人們便不會找我們的麻煩，也沒有人過問我們室什麼信仰。但是，一旦我們為了貧窮的人、無家可歸的人，和不會防護自己的人們而大聲疾呼的時候，一但我們的言語沖破一些人忍受讀的時候，反對力量便會聚集起來。當我們為了保護弱小的生命，包括還沒有出生的嬰孩而講出我們的觀點的時候，我們便會被人稱為是極端份子和不夠包容的人。當我們堅持原則和個人尊嚴的時候，別人則稱我們頑固、僵硬。而只要我們不向別人講出我們的信仰，我們便一點沒事，受人喜愛。

當基督教的原則和世俗的觀點相沖突而對無神論者和唯物論者的觀點進行挑戰的時候，人們開始對我們避而遠至，稱我們不夠包容、老舊過時、思想狹隘。在當今當世，在我們這樣的文化下面，最為嚴重的攻擊便是稱我們是不夠包容。

III •  基督的使徒會受到許多種類的苦難

苦難不但有許多不同的起因，也有許多不同的苦難。在路加所寫的福音書和《使徒行傳》 裏 ，我們可以辨認出幾種不同的苦難。路加和其它三位福音書的作者記述了基督受難的過程。他經歷了吃閉門羹、無家可歸、被自己的家庭疏遠、被人譏笑、被人假指控、不公平的審判、被人毒打、而最終死在十字架上。

在《使徒行傳》 裏 ，路加描述了 司提反和 雅各的死。早期教會受到保羅的暴力威脅。他們被監禁、鞭打、被人作假證詞。除了約翰之外，其他所有的門徒都被羅馬帝國殺害了。約翰被放逐到一個小島上，在那里度過了他的余生。他們受到各種各樣的苦難。

苦難在今天對我們來說以為著什麼？在蘇聯共產統治的時候，無數的基督徒（包括政治犯）被放逐在西伯利亞而最終死在那里。在 Chuck Colson 的書《 肢體 》、或者《殉道者的聲音》、或其它人權出版物 裏 ，我們讀到一篇又一篇東歐國家的基督徒和牧師們在直到 1990 年還被監禁的故事。在二十一世紀，在一些國家，仍然有許多基督徒因為他們的信仰而被監禁。基督徒們被剝奪了最基本的人權。在一些國家， 我們可以看到被政府縱容而社會上充斥大量淫邪的東西，然而基督徒們卻不能公開談論他們的信仰。

但是對我們許多人來說，我們會覺得這些都是發生在遙遠國度的事情，和我們不太相干。現在我們把鏡頭拉近到我們的國家。在這個國家和其它許多國家，法律保障人人有宗教自由。因此我們不會因為我們的信仰而受到監禁。這個禮拜，有一位年輕人在飯桌上說，在學術界要作為一名基督徒很難。在學術界，我們崇尚寬容和言論自由的學風。然而一旦有人暗示到基督教的神，所有的寬容和言論自由便被拋窗外。我們為了自己心胸開闊而自豪，然而卻對基督教的信仰全部關閉。我們從來沒有聽說過有老師或教授譏笑過佛教徒或穆斯林教徒，然而嘲笑基督徒卻是家常便飯。兩個月前，哥倫比亞大學邀請了伊朗總統到校園演講，但在此之前，哥大卻拒絕邀請一位基督徒的演講人到校園演講。

許多基督徒的教職員工和科學家們必需在學術討論或學術論文 裏 謹慎用詞。任何對于神特別是基督教信仰的暗示都可能會在同行當中留下未說出口或沒有記錄的汙點。當然，如果你是在像杰出遺傳學家 Francis Collins 那樣的位置上，你可以自由表達你的基督教信仰。在一個大學校園，一位哲學教授曾在新學年的第一堂課上說道﹕“關於你們當中的基督徒們，我的目的就是在你們第一個學年結束的時候，我可以讓你們放棄你們的信仰。”

也有一些情形，當你的一些朋友得知你是基督徒以後，他們逐漸對你避而遠之，把你看成一個怪人。在西方社會 裏 ，作為基督在人眼 裏 不是很光彩惡德事情。媒體很少有對基督教信仰友善的報到。當我們和非基督徒的朋友們在一起的時候，一旦提及聖經，耶穌基督，談話便終止了。因此我們便退卻到我們知趣相同的基督徒朋友的小圈子 裏 。我們感受到別人沒有對我們同等看待。而有時候，堅持我們信仰的原則則會使我們失去升遷或工作機會。

IV •  基督的使徒會以正面的方式回應苦難

追隨基督是不容易的事情。它不是平安、舒適、和愉快。耶穌很清楚的預先告訴我們，如果我們跟隨他， 就要背起我們的十字架來跟隨他。在那個時代，十字架只有一個意思，那就是苦難和死亡。所以，跟隨的呼召也就是為他的名而受苦的呼召。我們應當怎樣回應受苦哪？我們當中沒有人會喜歡疼痛或者歡迎苦難。當我們發現我們在為耶穌基督的名而受苦的時候，我們應當怎樣做哪？當別人譏笑或者排斥我們的時候，我們該怎麼做哪？

再一次，路加在他的文章 裏 ，也就是《路加福音》和《使徒行傳》這兩本書 裏 ，給我們提供了早期教會的信徒在遭遇苦難時怎樣反應的許多例子。

在《使徒行傳》五章四十到四十一節﹕“ 40 使徒歡歡喜喜從公議會裡出來，因為他們算是配得為主的名受辱。 41 他們天天在殿裡並在各人的家中，不斷地施教，傳講耶穌是基督。 ”信徒們喜樂是因 為他們算是配得為主的名受辱。他們歡喜是因為他們覺得為耶穌基督的名受苦是一種榮耀。他們覺得神讓他們受苦是因為神知道他們是配得為主的名受辱。如果你受到白宮晚宴的請帖，這是很榮耀的事你一定不會拒絕。你會感到很歡喜因為總統認為你配得作他的客人。

同樣為基督受苦也是一樣得道理。並不是每一個人都有這樣的榮耀可以為他受苦。當神認為你配得為他受苦得時候，你應當把它當成一件很榮耀得殊榮，應該歡喜才是。

除了歡喜，在《使徒行傳》四章二十九至三十一節﹕“ 29 “ 主啊，他們恐嚇我們，現在求你鑒察，也賜你僕人們大有膽量，傳講你的道。 ...... 他們禱告完了，聚會的地方震動起來，他們都被聖靈充滿，放膽傳講　神的道。 ”他們為基督受苦之後發生了什麼事情哪？他們禱告祈求神 賜他們大有膽量。神聽了他們得禱告，使他們能繼續放膽講神的道。門徒們以更大的膽量來回應受苦。

當我們因為我們的信仰而受人譏笑的時候，我們應該怎樣回應哪？我們也許會受到驚嚇而離開那個圈子。但是，我們也可以像使徒們一樣，求神賜我們膽量，使我們可以繼續放膽為他作見證。我們不需要受到我們周圍人的恐嚇。要切記在我們心中的神要遠比這個世界大得多。不要讓這個世界打敗我們，因為基督是我們得得勝者。

當司提反被人用石頭打的時候，他最後的話記錄在 《使徒行傳》七章六十節﹕“ 然後跪下來大聲喊著說：“主啊，不要把這罪歸給他們！”說了這話，就睡了。 ”即使在臨死的時候，他仍然對打死他的人充滿憐憫。當他人因我們的信仰而譏笑我們的時候，正反應出他們的無知和狹隘。在某種程度上來說，他們被神的敵人，也就是魔鬼蒙蔽了。一旦我們認識到這一點，我們便會把恐懼變為憐憫，因為他們不知道他們在做些什麼。

最後，在路加的記述 裏 ，我們了解到保羅要羅馬向最高的統治者上訴。他為耶穌基督而受監禁，然而他也向 凱撒上訴。保羅熟悉羅馬法律，知道他作為一個羅馬公民的權利。這難道不是我們可以學習的地方嗎？當我們因為我們的信仰而受到逼迫的時候，我們同樣可以向政府上訴，要求像其他公民一樣同等看待。在這個國家，有几家基督教法律協會可以幫助信徒得到從法律和憲法所保護的合法權利。我們當中會有人對 ACLU 反感。但也要注意到有一些案例， ACLU 會和基督教法律事務機構合作來幫助基督徒們得到平等待遇。

結論﹕

誰不想有一個 保障 , 舒適 , 消遙快活 的生活哪？難道這不是我們當中的一些人很多年前來到這個國家的原因嗎？怪不得當我們發現當我們來到基督面前，我們努力為他作見證的時候，我們的生活不在有安全、舒適、和充滿愉快的時候，我們會感到驚訝。到那個時候，我們才回想起神的話﹕如果你要跟隨我，背起你的十字架來跟隨我。跟隨基督當然不會給我們到來平安、舒適、和愉快。如果我們要作他的見證，苦難是難免的。

你也許記得你為了進入醫學院而經歷的千辛 萬苦 ? 然後在實習時不停工作 36 小時 . 我們也記得為了來美國申請護照的煩惱 , 又加上以後申請公民的手續 . 為何我們願意忍受這些辛勞呢 ? 因為我們知道在這一切之後 , 我們就能實現生命中的一個夢想 . 當我們能看見將來的真實 , 就能忍受目前的痛苦 .

為主吃苦豈不是一樣道理 ? 我們相信神國度的真理與真實性 , 也有把握有一日要面對面的站在神的面前 . 這是我們在世時的盼望 . 所以當我們為祂的名受苦時 , 也能以喜樂 , 勇敢 , 憐憫來面對那逼迫我們的人 . 你看 , 我們的盼望不是建立在物質的保障 , 舒適 , 消遙快活上 , 仍是神國度的來臨 . 祗有那些在將來有盼望的人 , 才能忍受苦難並且勝利地走出來 .

Date:   11/25/07

Text:   Acts 5:40-42

Title:   Security, Comfort, Pleasure

Theme: Since God has given His followers the hope of the Heavenly Kingdom , we can endure

suffering for Him with joy.

Introduction:

  “Security, comfort and pleasure” is the battle cry of the late 20 th and 21 st century. In the early 1990's a church in Denver changed its name to “ Happy Church ”. When asked why, the response is: it attracts people. Who wants to go to a sad or mourning church. We also read about some churches doing survey in their neighborhood asking the residents this question: “What is it about Christianity that hinders you from coming to church?” The church listened and made appropriate changes. Richard Ostling, religious editor of LA Times wrote that churches had gone from ‘glorification of God' to ‘Gratification of Man'.

  We want to remove any terms that may alienate and offend men. We don't want to talk much about sins, cross, cost of discipleship and suffering. In a culture of ‘tolerance', we want to down place our uniqueness or Christ's exclusiveness, and to focus on what we have in common with other religions.

  With this mindset, we find great difficulty or just shy away from passages like Acts 14:22, “ 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Paul was telling the new believers that there will be many suffering when we follow Christ. It's certainly not Security, Comfort and Pleasure.

  As we survey the scriptures, we probably notice that it is rather silent on the kind of suffering we are most interested in; such as natural disasters, great financial hardships and sicknesses. It doesn't tell us much about why they occurred, but showing us how to live under hardships. However, there is much teaching on suffering resulting from following Christ. This morning I would like to take a closer look at suffering in the context of being a witness of Jesus Christ. For a more complete treatment of this topic I'd refer you to Dennis Johnson's book on “The Message of Acts in the history of redemption”.

I.   The followers of Christ will face suffering for the gospel of God's Kingdom.

  Acts 14:22, “ 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God .” The word ‘must' means it is necessary. It is necessary to suffer when we enter the kingdom of God . In Luke we read about that Jesus ‘must' be in his father's house. He ‘must' go to other cities. Referring to the sick woman he healed on Sabbath, “'ought not' this woman….be loosed from this bond….?” He ‘must' go on his way today and tomorrow, and the third day….” He ‘must' stay at Zacchaeus' house. In Luke's writing, the word ‘must' carries the meaning of God's will, God's desire and plan. Why is it necessary to suffer?

1.   The Messiah suffered

  After Jesus' resurrection, on the road to Erasmus, he explained to the two disciples, “ 26 "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). A little while later, “ 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead," (45-46). In the OT, the prophets prophesize that the coming Messiah is a suffering Messiah. In the book of Acts we notice that after Jesus' ascension, the disciples began to pick up this theme of the suffering Christ in their messages. This servant Messiah is a suffering Messiah. He suffered because people rejected him as the one sent from God.

2.   The Messiah's followers suffered.

  Jesus told his disciples that whoever wanted to follow him, must take up his cross and follow him. In Luke 6:22-23, “ 22 "“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!" When Paul was called to become an apostle, God told Ananias, Acts 9:16, “ 16 "For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”". It appears that to suffer for Christ is built into the calling. Not just the apostles were to suffer, but this applies to all believers, followers of Christ. Paul instructed the young believers, Acts 14:22, “ 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God .” 2 Tim 3:12, “ 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,…”

  The Messiah was a suffering servant. All his followers are expected to suffer, to be persecuted because of their faith.

II.   The followers of Christ will face suffering from different sources.

  Now let's take a look at what are some sources, or causes of suffering.

  First it is clear that suffering is not a result of illegal or any antisocial behavior(s). It is important that when we go to another country, another culture or even a friend's house, we need to be sensitive and respect their laws, customs and tradition.

  Secondly, in Acts 5:17-18, “ 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.” The believers were persecuted and suffered because of the religious leaders' jealousy. They wanted to protect their power, influence and reputation.

  Thirdly, Acts 16:19 “ 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.” In this and another incident in chapter 19, the disciples were persecuted and suffered because of individuals' greed. They saw their source of prosperity was cut off by the disciples.

  Isn't this also true today? Whether we are at home, school or work, as long as we go with the majority, do not rock the boat, people will leave us alone and no one would bother us about our faith. However, when we start to speak out for the poor, the homeless, the defenseless ones, when such speaking out begin to intrude into people's comfort zone, opposition will arise. When we speak out for the little ones, including the unborn, we'll be labeled as extremists and intolerant. When we stand firm on principles and maintaining personal integrity, we're called rigid and inflexible. As long as we keep our faith to ourselves, we'll be fine and liked by others.

When Christian principles and worldview begins to collide and challenge the atheistic and materialistic worldview, people may shun and label us being intolerant, outdated and narrow minded. In this day and age, in our present culture, the worst name calling is that we are intolerant.

III.   The followers of Christ will face different kinds of suffering.

  Not only the causes of suffering may be different, but there are also different kinds of suffering. Luke and other gospel writers recorded the suffering Christ experienced. He experienced closed doors, homelessness, alienated from his own family, being laughed at, false accusations, unfair trial, beaten and death on the cross.

  In Acts, Luke wrote about Stephen and James being murdered. The early church was confronted with Paul's violent threats. There were imprisonments, flogging and false testimonies. With the exception of John, all the original disciples were killed by the Roman Empire . John was exiled to an island and spent the rest of his days there. The sufferings come in all forms and shapes.

  What does it mean to us today? During the communist rule in Russia , countless Christians (including the political prisoners) were exiled to Siberia and died there. In Chuck Colson's book, “The Body”, or in “Voice of Martyrs” and other human rights publications, we read about story after story of how some Christians and ministers were imprisoned in the Eastern bloc countries until the 1990's. Imprisonment for being a Christian still occurs in different country in this 21 st century. Christians are being denied many basic human rights.

  However, to many of us, we may feel such occurrences are in far away countries, having little to do with us. Let's bring it closer to home here. In this and many countries, there is the freedom of religion; therefore one will not be imprisoned because of one's faith. This week, during a dinner conversation a young man said that it is really hard to be a Christian in the academic world. In the academia, we worship tolerance and total freedom of speech. Yet the moment one mentions or hints at the Christian God, all tolerance and freedom of speech will go out of the window. We pride ourselves as open minded, yet totally closed to the Christian faith. We are tolerant to all religions except Christian faith. You seldom find teachers or professors making fun of the Buddhists and Muslims. But making fun of Christians is a common occurrence. About two months ago, Columbia University invited the president of Iran to give a speech to the school. Yet just sometime early in the year, the school rejected the invitation of a Christian speaker to come on campus.

Many Christian faculty and scientists have to be very careful in choosing the right words in discussion or in writing a paper. Any hint of God and especially Christian faith, can leave an unwritten or unspoken black mark among our peers. Of course, if you are in a strong leadership position such as Francis Collins, the well known Genome scientist, you can be very free in expressing your faith in Christ. On one college campus, a philosophy professor was quoted saying in the first class of the school year, “to those of you who are Christians, my objective is that by the end of your first year here, I would have made you abandon your faith.”

  There are situations when some of your friends found out that you have become a Christian, they may begin to slowly withdraw from you, and treating you as a weird person. In our western society, being a Christian is really not a very glamorous thing. In the media, seldom do we see reports friendly to the Christian faith. When we talk with our non-Christian friends, the mention of bible, Jesus Christ is often a conversation stopper. Consequently we would retreat to our own small circle of likeminded Christians. We do not feel being treated equally by others. Sometimes, standing firm in our faith may cost us a promotion or job opportunity.

IV.   The followers of Christ will respond to suffering in positive manners.

  Being a follower of Christ is not easy. It is not security, comfort and pleasure. Jesus had clearly foretold us that if we are to follow him, we have to take up the cross and follow him. In that day, the cross can only mean one thing, suffering and death. So, the call to follow is also a call to suffer for his name. So how are we to respond to suffering? None of us like pain or welcome suffering. What are we to do when we find ourselves suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ? What are we to do when others ridicule and even subtly ostracize us?

  Again, Luke in his writings, the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts gave us many examples of how the early believers respond to suffering.

  In Acts 5:40-41, “ 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” The disciples rejoice over the fact they suffered because of the Name of Jesus Christ. They rejoice because they felt it was an honor to have suffered for Jesus Christ. They felt God let them suffer because they were considered as worthy. If you receive an invitation to a White House dinner party, this is such an honor that you would not turn it down. You would be overjoyed because the president considers you as worthy to be his guest.

  The same is true with suffering for Christ. When God considers you worthy and to let you suffer for him, this should be considered a very honorable privilege and is to rejoice over it.

  Besides rejoicing, in 4:29-31, “ 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” What happened after suffering for Christ? They prayed for boldness and God listened to their prayers and enable them to continue to speak God's word with boldness. The disciples responded to suffering with more boldness.

  What do we do when we are being made fun of because of our faith? We can feel so intimidated that we would withdraw from that circle. However, like the disciples, we can ask God to give us courage so we can continue to be his witness with boldness. We don't have to be intimidated by people around us. It is important to remember that what is within us is greater than what is in the world. Don't let the world defeat us, for Christ is our victor.

  When Stephen was stoned, his last words were, 7:60, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Even at death, he was full of compassion for those who killed him. When others made fun of us for our belief, it really reflects their ignorance and narrow mindedness. In a way, they were blinded by God's opponent, Satan. When we recognize this fact, it will be natural for us to turn our fear into compassion, for they know not what they are doing.

  Lastly, in Luke's writing we read about Paul wanted to appeal to the highest Roman authority. He was imprisoned for Jesus Christ. Yet he also appealed to Caesar. Paul knew the Roman law and knew his rights as a Roman citizen. Isn't this something we can also learn from? When we suffer for our belief, we too can appeal to the government and asked to be treated equally just like other citizens. In this country, there are several Christian legal societies helping believers to be treated equally under the law and constitution. Some of us may have negative attitude towards ACLU. Yet it is good to note that there are also cases where the ACLU and Christian legal services cooperated to help Christians be treated equally.

Conclusion:

  Who doesn't want to live a life of security, comfort and pleasure? Isn't this the reason why some of us come to this country years ago? No wonder it came to us as a surprise when we find out that having come to know Christ, and making an effort to be his witness, life is no longer secure, comfort and full of pleasure. It is then we begin to realize Jesus' words: if you follow me, take up your cross and come. Being a follower of Christ is certainly not the key to security, comfort and pleasure. If we are to be his witness, suffering is expected.

You remember the hardship you went through in order to get into medical school. Then there was the hardship of applying for different internship. Some of us remember the trouble we went through in order to get the visa to come here. Then there is the long and tedious process of applying for US citizenship. Why did we endure such hardships? Because we have the hope that at the end of the process, we'll materialize a part of our dream in life.

  Isn't this the same with suffering for the Name of Christ? We believe in the truth of God's kingdom. We believe in the reality of God's kingdoms. We know with certainty that there will come a day when we'll find ourselves standing in the presence of God. We'll see him face to face. This is the hope we have on earth. Since this is not a pie in the sky, but a reality to be experienced, it begins to make sense that even when we suffer for this, we can respond with joy, boldness and compassion for those who persecute us.

  You see, our hope is not built upon present security, comfort and pleasure. Our hope is build upon the coming of God's kingdom. It is people with hope can endure suffering and coming out of it victoriously.