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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1336018
Paul spoke to Timothy about these days, calling them “perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]” (2 Timothy 3:1, "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). Although the times may be hard to bear, they are not impossible to bear—because with God, nothing is impossible! (Luke 1:37). Pressure and persecution are nothing new to God or His people. When the kingdom of darkness applies pressure to believers, the outcome is deliverance and multiplication. The truth is, the kingdom of darkness is terrified of God’s people. For instance, when the inhabitants of Jericho heard of the works God had done for the Israelites, the report terrified them. Consider Rahab’s words to the spies: “I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror…. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things” (Joshua 2:9, 11, "New Living Translation"). Then when God’s people lived in Egypt, Pharaoh said, “The Israelites are too many and too mighty for us” (Exodus 1:9, "AMPC"). That statement is true of God’s people today, although the media would like you to think that Christians are a minority. Pharaoh put pressure on Israel, but the more the Egyptians pressured them, the more they multiplied and spread. Then Pharaoh decided to slaughter babies to stop their growth. Does this sound familiar? But, as recorded in Exodus 1:20, "NLT," they “continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful.” Pressure Results in Growth Wherever Paul preached, the kingdom of darkness got stirred up—yet the Church kept growing. After one preaching event, a mob formed and Paul and Silas were thrown into a dungeon and bound with chains (see Acts 16). But the two men didn’t complain like many would; instead, they sang praises to God while the other inmates listened. And their singing resulted in an earthquake that shook the prison’s foundation and caused the prison doors to fly open! The event was so supernatural that the jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” (verse 30). And that very night, he and his entire household were born again. When true believers are pressured, the Church grows! Peter wasn’t intimidated by pressure when 3,000 were saved after the first sermon he preached. In fact, so many were being converted that the city officials forbade Peter from preaching about Jesus. When they imprisoned him, he was guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. I guess the authorities didn’t think that was secure enough because they fastened chains between Peter and two soldiers. They were terrified Peter might escape. And what did Peter do while shackled and imprisoned? He slept. And just as the officials feared, an angel appeared to facilitate Peter’s prison break. It’s revealing that Peter slept so soundly, the angel had to strike him to awaken him. During great persecution, Peter didn’t fear or complain—he slept like a baby! All these events establish a pattern that shows us what God will do for those who put their trust in Him alone. The authorities cannot stop the gospel from multiplying, no matter how much pressure they apply. When a governor made it illegal to sing in church, believers took corporate worship outside the four walls of the church and into the streets. That’s exactly what we did during the Jesus movement of the ’70s. We took the gospel outside the Church to reach the lost. BVOV : 11