Hardships, trials and persecutions - Gateway Foursquare Church - September 10, 2023

Experiencing God with Tim Hart

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This episode is a message that Tim gave on September 10, 2023 at Gateway Foursquare Church in Campbell River BC. Visit https://gatewayfoursquare.ca/thisweek/ For more information about Gateway.
Almost every book of the New Testament mentions suffering, hardships and persecution that believers face. It is talked about by Jesus early in the gospels during the sermon on the mount, and is mentioned throughout the New Testament as something that is guaranteed for those who follow Jesus. Paul exhorted Timothy saying “indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
For us in North America, this can often feel like a foreign concept - something that happens far away in other countries. For the past 200-300 years, until recently, North-American and Western culture was defined in part by over-arching, biblical core-values. There was a time when the Lord’s Prayer was recited in schools. People who weren’t necessarily devout followers of Jesus, would often attend Church on Christmas and Easter, and it was generally considered a good thing to be a church-going, God-fearing Christian. In recent decades however, our culture has made a radical shift away from over-arching Christian values, and has become far more secular. For this reason, it is likely going to become increasingly difficult and costly to be a follower of Christ in the coming decades.
In this message, we are reminded that Christians are guaranteed to face persecution and hardships. It is in these moments, that God tests us to bring forth maturity and genuine faith, proven to be of more worth than gold. Furthermore, Jesus actually requires us to understand that the Kingdom of God is the most value thing we could obtain, and we are to consider the high cost of being his disciple.