Christians Are Being Persecuted — A Biblical Response | John Giftah

0:01 Speaker 1: Do you ever look around and think, Wow, the world

0:05 Speaker 1: is a crazy place and it just seems to get

0:08 Speaker 1: crazier and crazier. Ease your mind and take a break.

0:13 Speaker 1: This is Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We're

0:17 Speaker 1: a hub for inspirational Christian sermons, practical keys for Christian living,

0:23 Speaker 1: in Christian discussions and interviews. You'll be inspired to live

0:27 Speaker 1: the life that you were created for. Your host is

0:30 Speaker 1: a top ranking podcaster, best selling author, world record holder,

0:35 Speaker 1: aerospace engineer, life coach, evangelist, and founder of John Gifta International.

0:41 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

0:46 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, Welcome to this edition of the Fuel for

0:48 Speaker 2: the Soul with John Gifta podcast. I'm really glad that

0:51 Speaker 2: you're joining in today where I want to just address

0:54 Speaker 2: a couple of things that's going on in the world

0:56 Speaker 2: right now at the same time from a biblical perspective,

0:59 Speaker 2: so that we can have the right perspective in the

1:03 Speaker 2: way we are supposed to regard to these things. And

1:05 Speaker 2: first things. For first, I want to talk about how

1:08 Speaker 2: recently in India a pastor was forced to eat cow

1:14 Speaker 2: dang and chant Hindu slogans and similarly a lot of

1:20 Speaker 2: attacks have happened or you know, especially in a lot

1:24 Speaker 2: of parts of India, especially recently with Christmas and all

1:29 Speaker 2: of that. Uh, and and even in even in the

1:32 Speaker 2: United States for that matter. Recently, you know, a group

1:36 Speaker 2: of people, including well known journalists Don Lenin, parched into

1:43 Speaker 2: a church and disrupted a church service. And you know,

1:47 Speaker 2: a lot of things that's been have been going on,

1:49 Speaker 2: and uh, we don't want to get into the nittigrity

1:52 Speaker 2: of things, but but I want to just remind you

1:55 Speaker 2: of an important aspect, right Like, when you see all

1:58 Speaker 2: this happening, it's very very easy to get riled up.

2:01 Speaker 2: We are in a place where, especially you know, the

2:05 Speaker 2: media force feeds us with information that can make us

2:09 Speaker 2: get really angry, and you know, like the whole society

2:15 Speaker 2: is getting polarized. Sometimes I'm just amazed that sometimes you

2:19 Speaker 2: can be you know, like in a place where you

2:24 Speaker 2: hate your own family members, so you hate other people

2:27 Speaker 2: just because of a difference in opinion, or or when

2:31 Speaker 2: you look at what somebody is doing, when you look

2:33 Speaker 2: at how a leader is doing, sometimes you can be

2:37 Speaker 2: so mad that you just want the worse for them.

2:41 Speaker 2: But I really challenge you today that even even a

2:45 Speaker 2: while ago in India there was there was a man

2:48 Speaker 2: that went viral for going and disrupting a church service

2:53 Speaker 2: and uh, you know, leading up to a lot of

2:56 Speaker 2: arguments and you know, bashing the past and all of

3:00 Speaker 2: these things. Here's the thing I want you to understand, right,

3:05 Speaker 2: I know that it affects us as human beings and

3:09 Speaker 2: it saddens us when we see these things happen. But

3:12 Speaker 2: I want to just remind you of a few scriptures

3:16 Speaker 2: to align on us in the right track with regard

3:19 Speaker 2: to these things. First things first, what Jesus said in

3:22 Speaker 2: Matthew five point forty four, love your enemies and pray

3:25 Speaker 2: for those who persecute you, that you may be sons

3:29 Speaker 2: of your Father in Heaven. Right, It's it's very clear

3:35 Speaker 2: what Jesus said, love your enemies and pray for those

3:39 Speaker 2: who persecute you, Luke six seven to twenty eight. When

3:43 Speaker 2: you say it says for I say to you who hear,

3:46 Speaker 2: love your enemies and do good to those who hate you,

3:49 Speaker 2: Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Right,

3:55 Speaker 2: I know this contradicts what the world is saying. You know,

3:57 Speaker 2: if if you hate them, hate on them, you know,

4:00 Speaker 2: and not good people just hate them, you know. But

4:03 Speaker 2: what does the Bible say, blessed those who curse you,

4:06 Speaker 2: pray for those who abuse you. Luke twenty three thirty

4:09 Speaker 2: four says, is a moment when Jesus hung on the

4:13 Speaker 2: cross and he said, Father, forgive them, for they do

4:16 Speaker 2: not know what they do. And if you look at

4:20 Speaker 2: Romans twelve fourteen, again it says, blessed those to persecute you,

4:24 Speaker 2: bless and do not curse. And the first Peter three

4:27 Speaker 2: verse nine says, do not repay evil for evil, or

4:31 Speaker 2: raveling for raveling. But on the contrary, bless for you

4:34 Speaker 2: are called and you may obtain a blessing. Now, the

4:38 Speaker 2: reason I wanted to share these scriptures is to remind

4:40 Speaker 2: you and ground you to be grounded on the word. Right.

4:45 Speaker 2: What does the Bible say, love your enemies? Jesus says this,

4:51 Speaker 2: love your enemies, you know. Just think about this. If

4:54 Speaker 2: even on your worst enemy, instead of saying, you know,

4:59 Speaker 2: let them go to hell, I'm telling you, can you

5:02 Speaker 2: have a compassionate heart, a godlike heart, a christ like heart,

5:08 Speaker 2: and say, Lord, you love them as much as you

5:12 Speaker 2: love me, you know, And you don't want to see

5:15 Speaker 2: them going to Hell. The Bible says, you know, it

5:18 Speaker 2: is not God's will for anyone to perish, but for

5:23 Speaker 2: them to have eternal life. You know. Personally, I think

5:26 Speaker 2: I've shared this many times on the podcast and as well.

5:29 Speaker 2: I've had encounters where the Lord has shown me glimpses

5:32 Speaker 2: of Hell. Hell is not a joke. It's not something

5:35 Speaker 2: we can just play up and say, go to Hell.

5:37 Speaker 2: Let themseten in Hell. No, like, I've had personal experiences

5:42 Speaker 2: where I when I look at people that I you know,

5:47 Speaker 2: like I would trouble me a lot or given me

5:49 Speaker 2: a heart time, or or they making such a havoc,

5:52 Speaker 2: or they could be even terrorists for that matter, I

5:55 Speaker 2: have prayed that they will know Jesus before they go

5:58 Speaker 2: to Hell, you know, like when they pass from planet eart.

6:03 Speaker 2: Because I want to tell you something, all right, Yes,

6:08 Speaker 2: people are bad. They don't They are inherently bad because

6:12 Speaker 2: of the fallen nature of man. But always remember this,

6:16 Speaker 2: if not for the grace of God, you could also

6:18 Speaker 2: be in the same position. You know, you could also

6:21 Speaker 2: be in the same ignorant face. You could also be

6:24 Speaker 2: in the same arrogance. You know, if you are now

6:28 Speaker 2: able to understand the finished work of Jesus. If you

6:31 Speaker 2: are where you are right now, the apostle pause said this,

6:34 Speaker 2: I am what I am by the grace of God

6:35 Speaker 2: in the Book of Corinthians. So likewise, you are who

6:39 Speaker 2: you are right now only because of the grace of God.

6:43 Speaker 2: If not for that, you could be in the same

6:45 Speaker 2: change that somebody else is. If not for the grace

6:48 Speaker 2: of God, you could be, you know, a murderer. Like

6:52 Speaker 2: I'm just being straight out and saying this, If not

6:54 Speaker 2: for the grace of God, you could be, you know,

6:59 Speaker 2: in the worst sin, or brainwashed in the wrong faith

7:03 Speaker 2: that says, you know, go and kill other people. You

7:05 Speaker 2: could be in that same position. You could be in

7:09 Speaker 2: that place, you know, the other day. Many times I

7:13 Speaker 2: look at the people who have been brainwashed by their

7:17 Speaker 2: faith or religion saying go and kill people and all

7:20 Speaker 2: of that, and I just can't imagine how much they've

7:25 Speaker 2: been brainwashed to think that killing other people is the

7:28 Speaker 2: way for them to inherit, you know, heaven. And I

7:35 Speaker 2: can't imagine or wrap my head around the fact when

7:38 Speaker 2: they die they realized they didn't go to heaven, They've

7:42 Speaker 2: gone to eternal hell. Think about this Can we go

7:49 Speaker 2: to that place where we have that mercy for people.

7:53 Speaker 2: When you look at someone persecuting, can you pray pray

7:58 Speaker 2: for them and say, Lord, this person encounter you. Let

8:03 Speaker 2: this person be like right now, how solid was God

8:07 Speaker 2: encountered and he transformed into Paul apostle Paul, God can

8:13 Speaker 2: do that even now? Can you pray for that transformation?

8:19 Speaker 2: Can you bless those who curse you? Can you bless

8:23 Speaker 2: those who are giving you trouble? Can you bless those

8:28 Speaker 2: who persecute you because they in reality do not know

8:33 Speaker 2: what they do because they are clouded, they are chained,

8:39 Speaker 2: they have been brainwashed and deceived by the enemy. Today, guys,

8:43 Speaker 2: I really challenge each one of us when we look

8:46 Speaker 2: at all that's happening, instead of getting riled up, instead

8:50 Speaker 2: of just going with the flow and you know, being

8:53 Speaker 2: more atticant and adding fuel to the fire, I really

8:58 Speaker 2: challenge you to ask the Lord to fill you with

9:02 Speaker 2: that compassion, fill you with that sense of purpose of intercession,

9:08 Speaker 2: to pray, to intercede, to bless those who persecute and

9:15 Speaker 2: curse you. Because I believe that the Bible says allow

9:19 Speaker 2: this scripture, because it says you know that when you

9:23 Speaker 2: actually do this, you will obtain a blessing. In first

9:27 Speaker 2: bit to three ninety says ys, you will obtain a blessing.

9:31 Speaker 2: I mean, don't do this so that you will obtain

9:33 Speaker 2: a blessing, but I'm saying the Bible says this. You

9:37 Speaker 2: will actually obtain a blessing when you actually bless those

9:39 Speaker 2: who curse you. So instead of expecting the worse on people,

9:44 Speaker 2: instead of having that attitude to say, let them go

9:47 Speaker 2: to hell, you know, let them suffer in hell, pray

9:52 Speaker 2: for them, Pray for them. Pray for your enemies, Pray

9:56 Speaker 2: for those who abused you. Pray for those who have

9:59 Speaker 2: given you a hard time. Pray for those who have

10:02 Speaker 2: persecuted you. Pray for those who have given you the

10:07 Speaker 2: worst experience or nightmare. Pray for them. Pray for them.

10:13 Speaker 2: Because when you release that, when you pray and release

10:17 Speaker 2: that instead of sitting in bitterness, if you're letting go

10:21 Speaker 2: of unfigiveness, what happens. You will be free. You will

10:26 Speaker 2: be set free to live the life that God has

10:29 Speaker 2: for you.

10:30 Speaker 1: Amen.

10:31 Speaker 2: Shat this with someone who needs to hear this word,

10:33 Speaker 2: and I will catch up with you very soon. God

10:36 Speaker 2: bless you.

10:39 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

10:43 Speaker 1: We hope you were blessed and inspired to live the

10:46 Speaker 1: life that God has for you. Make sure to subscribe

10:49 Speaker 1: to the John gifted YouTube channel for regular uploads of sermons, skits, interviews,

10:55 Speaker 1: and more. Follow John Gifta on Instagram for regular inspirational posts.

11:00 Speaker 1: Don't forget to check out the best selling books written

11:02 Speaker 1: by John Gifta, Who Am I which will help you

11:05 Speaker 1: understand your identity and the latest number one best seller

11:09 Speaker 1: Unveil your Purpose, helping you discover your purpose and to

11:13 Speaker 1: start walking in it. Make sure to leave a rating

11:15 Speaker 1: and review and be sure to share it with your

11:17 Speaker 1: friends and loved ones. If you'd like to donate, you

11:20 Speaker 1: can find the PayPal link in the description, and if

11:23 Speaker 1: you'd like to invite John Gifta to speak at your

11:25 Speaker 1: event or to get more details, go to the website

11:28 Speaker 1: at www Godjohngifted dot com. See you on the next

11:33 Speaker 1: episode of the Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

11:37 Speaker 1: God bless you. You've been listening to Fuel for the

11:52 Speaker 1: Soul with John Gifta. We hope you were blessed and

11:55 Speaker 1: inspired to live the life that God has for you,

11:59 Speaker 1: make sure to subscribe to the John Gifta YouTube channel

12:02 Speaker 1: for regular uploads of sermons, skits, interviews, and more. Follow

12:06 Speaker 1: John Gifta on Instagram for regular inspirational posts, and don't

12:10 Speaker 1: forget to check out the best selling books written by

12:13 Speaker 1: John Gifta, Who Am I which will help you understand

12:16 Speaker 1: your identity and the latest number one best seller Unveil

12:20 Speaker 1: your Purpose, helping you discover your purpose and to start

12:24 Speaker 1: walking in it. Make sure to leave a rating and review,

12:27 Speaker 1: and be sure to share it with your friends and

12:28 Speaker 1: loved ones. If you'd like to donate, you can find

12:31 Speaker 1: the PayPal link in the description, and if you'd like

12:34 Speaker 1: to invite John Gifta to speak at your event or

12:36 Speaker 1: to get more details, go to the website at www

12:40 Speaker 1: dot John gifted dot com. See you on the next episode.