RECALIBRATING REALITY (4): ADVERSITY MEANS OPPORTUNITY

(Luke 21:12-19)
April 23, 2017

Read Luke 21:12-19 [to be used in outline only: I. A Reach for Hope (5):
II. A Repudiation of Hope (6): III. A Reapplication for Hope (7)]. Were
studying Jesus major prophetic sermon, the Olivet Discourse. It is given as a
corrective to replace false hope with true hope. The disciples were expecting
kingdom got delay. How do you handle such disappointment? Jesus shows
them as He realigns them with reality rather than fantasy.

IV. A Reorientation of Hope (8-33)

. Disturbing Delay (8-11) Last time we saw Jesus give them general
characteristics of the delay. We showed that these are general signs covering
the whole of the church age Pentecost to Rapture. Chaos reigns.

. Personal Persecution (12-19) But then Jesus turns His attention to what is
going to happen specifically to the disciples prior to the destruction of the
temple. In a word -- Persecution. Reading Jesus words reminds me of the old
saint who prayed, Lord, when will you cease to burden me with trials and
thorns? The Lord answered, My child, that is how I prove My friends. To
which the man replied, Lord, perhaps thats why You have so few of them!
Could be, right?! But consider this question: Would you rather suffer with
Christ for a brief time now or suffer eternity without Him later? That puts a
whole different spin on things. But thats the choice we all face. Suffer with
Him now or suffer without Him forever.

Human experience tells us all suffering is bad! But not from Gods viewpoint.
In a fallen world, suffering can be redemptive. Jesuss suffering on the cross
is the ultimate demonstration of that. And so Jesus resets the disciples
expectations. Not only is the earthly kingdom not yet, but during the delay you
will suffer (and by application, all believers who follow). BUT adversity
means opportunity. It demonstrates the supreme worth of Jesus. So He urges
His followers make your suffering redemptive; you wont be disappointed.

1. The Prediction Persecution

12
But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought
before kings and governors for my names sake. And things go from bad to

1
worse: 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives
and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all
for my names sake. Persecution leading to death. Thats your future. And
along the way, hated by everyone. Tough message. Certainly not modern!
Come to Jesus and Hell make everything good. Hell fix your marriage,
clean up your addictions and make you wealthy. He may do all of that, or
He may do none, but thats not what He promises. Jesus pulls no punches. He
tells it like it is. Jn 15:18 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me
before it hated you. . . . 20 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute
you.

Now, note the time reference. Before all this. Before all what? Well, what
immediately precedes this is a general characterization of the age of delay
the church age. So it is before that. And even more specifically, in v. 6 Jesus
predicts that the temple is coming down. In v. 7 the disciples ask when. And
Jesus starts v. 12 by saying, Before all this. So it must be prior to destruction
of the temple. This prediction relates specifically to the disciples. Rather than
being honored in His kingdom, theyll be humiliated in persecution.

Of course, Jesus Himself is first to experience all this. He never sends His
followers somewhere that He hasnt been first. Never. His own family hated
Him enough that according to Jn 7 His brothers suggested He take His
message to Jerusalem where they knew He was Public Enemy No. 1. Why? Jn
7:5: For not even his brothers believed in him. They were perfectly willing
to see Him killed and it was His friend Judas who made sure it happened.
Persecution hated betrayal death. Jesus knew it all. He went there first.

But His followers soon suffered the same fate. Arrested and persecuted,
sometimes by Jewish people, and sometimes by Gentile kings and governors.
They were equal opportunity victims. Most were martyred. The book of Acts
shows it all happened just as Jesus predicted persecution right from the start.

In Acts 3 Peter and John heal a temple beggar and preach to thousands. But
Acts 4:3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for
it was already evening. Arrest and imprisonment right on schedule.
But look what happened?! 4 But many of those who had heard the word
believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. They are
released under strict orders to stop preaching. They do not, so Acts 5:18:
18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. In Acts 6
Stephen is arrested for preaching and becomes the first martyr. Acts 8:1: And

2
Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great
persecution against the church in Jerusalem. Soon after Stephen, James was
killed -- this time by the Gentile, Herod Antipas. Saul is converted, becomes
Paul, and suffers all manner of persecution from both Jews and Gentiles
throughout the empire. According to II Cor 11:24 ff. he was give 40-lashes 5
times, beaten with rods 3 times, suffered untold mockery and humiliation and
was finally executed by order of Nero himself. There was persecution
everywhere!

Beloved, persecution is the normal Christian life. II Tim 3:12 12 Indeed, all
who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. The
wonderful protection weve lived under in the USA has deadened out senses
to the reality that persecution is the expectation, not the exception. We have a
lot of fair-weather professors who would never pass the test of persecution
because they are not real. They just think they are. Consider those 3 boys in
Babylon who were ordered to bow to Nebs image on pain of death by fire.
They refused to bow and were hauled before the king. Given a 2nd chance,
they answered Neb in Dan 3:17 ff. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of
your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not
serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

God spared those boys but it is not always so. Heb 11:35 some raised; some
tortured. We need that kind of faith because the bubble is breaking. John
Lennox, prof at Cambridge warns: Society tolerates . . . Christian faith in
private devotions and in church services, but it deprecates public witness. To
the relativist and secularist, public witness to faith in God smacks too much
of proselytizing and fundamentalist extremism. The story of Daniel and his
friends is a clarion call to our generation to be courageous; not to lose our
nerve and allow the expression of our faith to be diluted and squeezed out of
the public space and thus rendered spineless and ineffective. Their story will
also tell us that this objective is not likely to be achieved without cost.
Persecution is alive and well -- and it is coming to America.

2. The Purpose Proliferation (13-15)

Okay so why persecution? Does Jesus like to see His followers suffer? No,
but the Fall renders suffering necessary to redemption. And our suffering
can be part of the proliferation of the gospel. Youd think it would wipe it out;
instead the opposite happens. What happened when this first generation of

3
believers were persecuted and killed? Did it wipe out Christianity? No it
spread like wildfire. The harder they tried to put it out, the faster it spread.
Tertullian said: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. They
were unstoppable. The more you killed, the more there were left to kill!

Why persecution? End of v. 12: For my names sake.13 This will be your
opportunity to bear witness. From our bubble, persecution looks like tragedy.
From Jesus perspective, it is opportunity. Opportunity to demonstrate He is
greater than anything even persecution and suffering. He is worth it. He even
tells them when the time comes He will teach them what to say that will
astound their tormentors. How do you beat someone who is willing to die?!

Weve been brainwashed into thinking the way to win people is to show our
success. Look at that guy. Hes rich and famous, and has a great wife and kids.
And he says its all because of Jesus. Surely that will entice people. Thats
what we think. Know what the world thinks? The world thinks, Fine. So
Jesus is your ticket to success. Good for you. Ive got a different ticket. I
dont need Jesus. But Ill meet you at the top. Thats what the world thinks.

But show someone who can bear up under persecution and they have no
answer for that. Listen carefully nothing proliferates the gospel like
suffering. Thats why Paul was so keen to be filling up what is lacking in
Christs afflictions (Col 1:24). That demonstrated Christ to better advantage
than anything else he could do. Thats why he longed to share his sufferings
(Phil 3:10). We dont have many Christians like that. But we have some!

A few weeks ago a Christian magazine had a story about a young Arab named
Ajir who had turned from Islam to Christ when someone shared the true
biblical picture of Jesus. It was a wonderful story, but it had a footnote: Ajir
now lies buried on a hillside in his own native land. He was slain by his own
relatives. We can now print his testimony because he can no longer suffer
recrimination for it. We consider this a tragedy. Jesus considered it normal.
One Russian pastor told Nik Ripken (The Insanity of God), Persecution for
our faith has always been and probably always will be a normal part of
life. Thats what Jesus was teaching His followers. Get ready for normal.

3. The Promise Protection

18
But not a hair of your head will perish. What a promise! Better than the
good hands of All-State. But its got a fascinating context. Last phrase of v.

4
16: You, they will put to death, yet v. 18: not a hair of your head will
perish. So which is it? Death or not a hair harmed? How do you explain that?

Well, remember, Jesus always takes the long view. His outlook is eternal, and
His point is, while you may lose your life here, you can never perish in the
ultimate sense. Your eternity is secured. The promise is really two-fold. Not a
hair of your head can be harmed here unless He allows it for some greater
good (as in His own death). And even if you should pay the ultimate price here
you will immediately experience II Cor 5:8: absent from the body and
present with the Lord. Money cant buy that policy. Thats priceless and
thats what He means when He says not a hair of your head will perish not in
the ultimate sense. Your eternity is secured.

At age 26 Lina Sandell was with her father on Lake Vattern in Sweden when a
gust of wind caused the ship to lurch. Her father, a devout Xn, fell overboard
and drowned before his daughters eyes. Shortly after, heres what she wrote:
Day by day and with each passing moment, / Strength I find to meet my
trials here; / Trusting in my Fathers wise bestowment, / Ive no cause for
worry or for fear. / He whose heart is kind beyond all measure / Gives unto
each day what He deems best / Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, /
Mingling toil with peace and rest. / The protection of His child and
treasure / Is a charge that on Himself He laid; / As thy days, your strength
shall be in measure, / This the pledge to me He made. Its a priceless
promise. Not a hair of your head will perish not until its the Fathers time.
Rest in that!

4. The Proof -- Perseverance

But then Jesus adds this note: 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Endure -- see the race all the way through. Be there at the end. Remember the
boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran on Nov 30,
1980? Six months earlier, Duran defeated Leonard, taking his welterweight
title. The rematch was much-hyped. But this time, rather than fight on Durans
punching terms, Leonard used his speed to thoroughly confuse Duran. Near
the end of the 7th round, Leonard wound up his right hand as tho preparing to
throw a punch and instead hit Duran with a straight left totally humiliating.
Near the end of the 8th round, Duran threw up his hands, headed for his corner
and told the referee, No mas, no mas (No more). He went a long way but
he didnt endure to the end and he lost his title and a lot of respect.

5
So, its the one who endures to the end who gains his life only the word isnt
life. The word is soul. Heres His eternal perspective again. The physical life
may be lost, but if lost for His names sake, the person has gained his soul.

So are we saved by endurance? Is that the message? No it is the same

message spoken often through the Bible. Endurance doesnt create saving
faith; endurance demonstrates saving faith. It shows the profession is real.
Saving faith happens at a moment in time, but it endures to the end or it was
never real to begin with. The proof of saving faith is perseverance. Jesus says
in Mt 10:22: 22 and you will be hated by all for my names sake. But the one
who endures to the end will be saved. Saving faith takes every punch and
says, Bring it on. It does not quit in the 8th round. It has staying power.
Many look good for 8 rounds, but then they disappear. They lose heart and
interest. Someone hurt them. They go back to old ways. Did they lose their
salvation? No they never had it. John says in I Jn 2:19 They went out from
us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have
continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all
are not of us. Saving faith never gives up. It perseveres through the
persecution and endures to the end. No cowards in heaven (Rev 21:8)

Conc So, if you are not a Christ-follower, the question comes down to
suffer briefly with Christ now or suffer eternity without Him later. We urge
you with all of our being, choose Christ. And if you are a Christian, realize
that suffering is part of the deal. Remember how Jesus was baptized by John
at the beginning of His ministry and the voice of God comes from heaven
saying, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Thats Mt
3:17. Then comes 4:1. Sometimes chapter division cause us to miss the point.
Jesus has been affirmed by God as absolutely pleasing. Then (4:1 then,
right after Gods affirmation) Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil. Affirmed, empowered and then 40 days of
hell. Get the order: Gods love and power then evil, wilderness, hunger;
temptation. If life is going well get ready. Its like Matt is saying, Read my
lips: No one is exempt from trials and tribulations. In fact, this is often what
happens to people God loves very much as part of His mysterious and good
plan for turning us into something great.

Spurgeon used to tell of a woman aboard ship who was frightened by a storm,
while her husband, the captain, was perfectly calm. She asked how he could
be so at peace while she was so distressed. Silently he took down his sword,
held it to her throat and said, Why are you not afraid? This sword is so

6
sharp I could slay you in a second. She replied, But I am not afraid of a
sword when it is my husband who wields it. So said he, neither am I
afraid of a storm when my Father sends it and manages it. Lets pray.