When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Preparing for the Future—instructing others so they can prepare for the future, is one of the most difficult tasks we face. It certainly is one of the tasks every parent assumes. We all try to help our children to live in a dangerous world. And yet we know that not everyone pays attention to our warnings. If there is anything sadder than reading about the death of a teen in a car accident, it is the death of a teen in a car accident where alcohol is involved. You know that they had heard warnings, lots of warnings that alcohol and automobiles don’t go together. You know their parents warned them, their teachers warned them, and their friends warned them. Obviously, they ignored the warning. They didn’t think it pertained to them. They weren’t listening.

Parents – at least most parents – have taught their children about the wonderful gift of sex that God has given us. It is a gift given to enhance love. When sex is separated from love the gift can be less than wonderful. I assume most of you have heard of the hook-up culture prevalent on college campuses and, increasingly, in high schools. Kids don’t date; they just do it, or something close to it. Laura Sessions has written a book called, "Unhooked." With a mother listening to an interview in their home a teen told Ms. Sessions: First you do it with a guy and then you decide if you like him."

Most parents make certain that their children know about the more than two-dozen sexually transmitted diseases and the 15 million new cases each year, some of which are incurable. Parents also warn their children about the psychological repercussions of casual sex. The question, who is listening?

Here is another warning. The over-use of anti-biotics has dangerous repercussions. Yet when we go to the doctor or take our child to a doctor we automatically expect a prescription for anti-biotics. Doctors tell us only certain illnesses should be treated with anti-biotics. They tell us we must understand the difference between bacteria and viruses. Although certain bacteria and viruses cause diseases with similar symptoms, the way these two organisms multiply and spread illness are actually quite different. Bacteria are living organisms existing as single cells. Not all bacteria are harmful, but the harmful bacteria can cause illness by invading the human body, multiplying, and interfering with normal bodily processes. Antibiotics are effective against bacteria because they work to kill these living organisms by stopping their growth and reproduction.

Viruses, on the other hand, are not alive and cannot exist on their own. Viruses "live," grow, and reproduce only after they've invaded other living cells. Some viruses may be fought off by the body's own immune system before they cause illness, but others (colds, flu, and, for example) must simply run their course. Viruses don’t respond to antibiotics at all.

Taking antibiotics for colds and other viral illnesses not only won't work, but also over time can have a dangerous side effect. They have helped create bacteria that have become more of a challenge to kill. Frequent and inappropriate use of antibiotics results in strains of bacteria that can resist treatment. This is called bacterial resistance. These resistant bacteria require higher doses of medicine or stronger antibiotics to treat. Doctors have even found bacteria that are resistant to some of the most powerful antibiotics available today. The warnings are in front of us, but the question is: who is listening?

Jesus tried to prepare his people about his impending death. He could see it coming. Unless he went into hiding there was no way to avoid it. He told his followers several times that he was soon to suffer and die. Were any of them listening? Yes. Did they believe him? No.

Jesus also gave warnings about what it meant to follow him and be his disciple. We talked about some of his warnings in our recent series on Revelation. By the way, some of you appreciated that series very much and some of you found it boring. Some even suggested that the writer of Revelation was weird, like he was on drugs. One person asked me, Really, what does all that stuff have to do with us? The honest answer is, "I’m not really sure." The major threat facing us is not persecution; it is wealth. We are so well off that people are convinced that they don’t need any help. They don’t need God. Yet, the threat of persecution is real. On Thursday I received this note from Bethel member, and world traveler, Dave Baskerville. He is just back from a trip to Sudan. He sent me a bulletin from "All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral in Kampala, Uganda. The note reads: Bill, thought that you might be interested in the Uganda Church bulletin where we worshiped before our trip in Sudan (Also the following Sunday, worshipped in Sudanese African language with a small (30) congregation in their thatched roof building, but no bulletins). Always inspired by these ebullient singing/dancing/growing Christians in Africa -- so many who have gone through hell at one time or another. (Idi Amin apparently killed some 400,000 Christians including the Kampala archbishop. In Southern Sudan – after 25 years of war, 2.5 million dead. They continue to sing, be baptized, multiply at double digit rates! -- Dave Baskerville.

Moments later, cleaning out an old file, I ran across this piece that I clipped over a decade ago written by Charles Colson. The Muslim government in Sudan has made it a crime to convert to Christianity – a policy enforced brutally. As the Khartoum government troops move south, where most Christians live, believers are given three options: convert, flee, or be killed. Thousands of children have been snatched from Christian families and many sold as slaves…in Ethiopia last year, government troops raided the largest evangelical church…many died in jail. In Pakistan, Christian evangelization is outlawed by a blasphemy law…

The Colson article concludes, Yet, astonishingly, the church is thriving all over..Evidence abounds that within all Christian groups, genocide has brought not abandonment of faith, but renewal.

One of the reasons that persecution has not wiped out the church is that the church listened to the warnings of Jesus. He told us that a faithful church could easily become a suffering church. We realize that if the man we call Lord suffered and died innocently, the same thing may happen to us.

In the fifth chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles there is a curious passage. A group of disciples of Jesus were arrested in Jerusalem because they were teaching about Jesus. They flogged them and then ordered them not to speak again. Here is the passage: As they left the council they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer his honor for the sake of the name. They had heard the warning: those who work in the name of Jesus could suffer. That warning led them to see their suffering, not as life threatening, but as a privilege.

Not every word in scripture is relevant right this very minute. Sometimes our own experience prohibits us from understanding. For example, most healthy, robust people can’t say: For me to live is Christ and to die is gain, as did St. Paul. But when you sit in a sick room with someone age 94 and dying, you know the truth of those words.

Pain is a part of the life of faith. Perhaps not for us, but it certainly is for other believers in different parts of the world. If we only pay attention to the words that speak to us now, we will not be prepared for the future.

This strong word of Jesus speaks not just of the present, but of what is to come. It reminds us that faith cannot be destroyed by external events…not persecution, not even the death of loved ones. People who don’t know this, who haven’t listened to the warnings, are devastated when suffering comes to them. They say: I can’t understand this. I’ve been a good person and yet all of this is happening to me! Why? At moments like this we remember, or ought to remember, the cautionary, warning words of Jesus. Suffering happens to good people, just like it happened to Jesus.

In the face of bad things the abiding presence of God becomes even more valuable. In the face of bad things we think about things that aren’t really on our life monitors when things are good – heaven, hope, a future with God. Be grateful for the good things that happen to you. Be warned about the bad things.

Amen.    2007©