Sami
Dagher
The
Evangelist is Faithful in a Hostile World
Key
Reference: Revelation 2:8‑11
I
am so happy to be in Amsterdam. I have wonderful memories of this
place.
In 1971, I was invited to a conference like this. At that time, I
was
working in the hotel business. After one week of hearing Dr. Billy
Graham
preaching and presenting the needs of the world ‑ especially in
Europe
and the Middle East ‑ I was touched by the Lord, and I
accepted
the challenge to serve Him. In 1973 I resigned from the hotel
business
and started church planting. We were three people at that time ‑
me, my wife, and one
other
person. By the grace of God, we have six churches now in Lebanon:
four in the Arabic
language
for the Lebanese; one for the Sri Lankan people in my country; and
one for the Sudanese
residing
there. We also have a Bible school to train people in Lebanon so that
we can send them
all
over the Arab world with the message of Jesus Christ.
So
far we have sent a missionary to Africa's Ivory Coast, as well as
short‑term
missionaries
to Iraq. Now we have an Iraqi man who is continuing ministry in that
country.
All
of that comes as the result of obeying what the Lord had said to me
in Amsterdam almost
twenty‑nine
years ago. My prayer is that you have been listening carefully to the
voice of the Spirit
during
your time here, and that you will obey what the Lord has said to you.
The
subject I have been assigned to speak on is "The Evangelist is
Faithful in a Hostile World."
You
have heard many preachers this week, and today you are going to hear
another preacher. In
my
heart I have but one wish for you this morning: I wish that the Lord
Jesus Himself would be
able
to stand here today in the flesh and teach us about this subject.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Wouldn't
you like to hear a message from the mouth of the Lord Jesus?
Beloved
ones, this wish would be very heard to fulfill, because when the
Lord will come again, He
will
not come as a preacher or as a teacher, but He will come in great
glory to judge the living and
the
dead. But let me assure you, even if He were to come as a preacher,
He would not change
one
Word of what He has said before. For it is written, "I am the
LORD, I do not change" (Malachi
3:6).
Because He is God and He changes not, His word will never change.
The
passage that we have just read is a message from the Lord Jesus
after resurrection to the
angel
of the church of Smyrna. In His message, He encourages the angel,
and He gives him some
directions
and orders. He says to him: "Be faithful until death, and I
will give you the crown of life"
(Rev.
2:10b).
Dear
brothers and sisters, we evangelists are stewards of the mysteries
of God. And a steward is
entrusted
to be faithful in all situations of life, without exceptions. There
is no excuse for
unfaithfulness.
This morning I have a few thoughts I want you to know:
I.
Hostility is expected whenever we take a stand for Jesus.
In
John 17:14, Jesus prayed to the Father, saying, "I have given
them Your word; and the world
has
hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of
the world."
Paul
says, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).
According
to the teaching of our Lord and the teaching of the Holy Spirit,
there is no escape from
persecution,
because we are hated by the world. All of us face different
persecution ‑ mental and
physical.
And we have to be prepared to face it. Jesus tells us, "A
servant is not greater than his
master.
If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John
15:20).
Many
times, we as believers are ashamed to speak out for Christ. We are
ashamed to carry our
Bibles
because of the pressure and persecution of the world. Why? Because
we have not been
prepared
for this kind of pressure or this kind of persecution. Our problem
is this: when we present
the
gospel of Christ to other people, we usually only portray a picture
of peace, stability,
happiness,
and joy. As a result, new believers are often shocked when they face
problems,
suffering,
pressure, and persecution.
Of
course we do have peace, joy, and happiness in Christ. But we must
explain what that means
to
the people we are trying to reach. What kind of peace are we talking
about, what kind of joy are
we
talking about?
We
should know and make clear to our listeners that the peace and joy
that we have in Christ is
not
a guarantee for us against hardships, sufferings, and persecutions.
Again Jesus says, "These
things
I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world
you will have tribulation;
but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
So
in Him we have peace. In Him we have victory. But in the world, we
shall have tribulations.
Jesus
made it very clear that the world would hate us: "I have given
them Your Word; and the
world
has hated themY" (John 17:14a). We are hated by the world not
because we are bad, but
because
we have the word of God.
We
are not only hated by the world, but we are also strangers of the
world. Referring again to that
same
verse: "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated
them because they are not of
the
world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:14).
If
we were from this world, the world would have loved us, because it
loves its own. But we are not
of
the world: our goals are different and our nature is different. We
are partners of the divine nature.
Dear
brothers and sisters, we are strangers in this world.
What
does a stranger expect in a foreign land? We all know that a
stranger in a foreign land
expects
to face trials, problems, and suffering. All of the prophets and
saints who have gone before
us
have all confessed to being strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
They had a trial of cruel
mockers,
they were stoned, and they were slain by the sword. It is written
that the world did not
deserve
them; but they stood faithful to the word of God to the end ‑
in spite of suffering and
persecution
(Hebrews 11:38).
So,
the first thing we should know is that hostility is to be expected
whenever we take a stand for
Jesus.
This brings me to my second pointY
II.
The upright life of the evangelist gives him respect in a hostile
world.
Dear
brethren, listen carefully. If we want to escape some of the
suffering in a hostile world, we
should
live an upright life. Living an upright life gives us respect and
reverence in a world that is
hostile
to the gospel.
Paul
says in Romans 13:3, "Rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to evil." He goes on to say
that
if you don't want to be afraid of their power, do that which is
good, and you will receive their
praise.
We
have been serving in an Arab country for nearly ten years. The
people of that country believe
that
they have suffered a lot at the hand of the Christians. They look to
the Western world as a
"Christian"
country. They accuse the West of killing their children and
destroying their homes and
their
future.
In
the beginning, we faced a lot of difficulties. They watched our
every step. After a long time, they
discovered
that our only goal was to show them the love of Christ. We did not
have any hidden
agenda,
and we were not looking for profit or material gain. They came to
trust us, and they gave
us
permission to give tens of thousands of New Testaments in the
streets of their cities. To our
surprise,
by special order from their president, the Jesus film was shown on
national TV, and
some
20 million people watched it.
The
reason for the difficulties behind proclaiming the gospel in the
Middle East is not only the
fanaticism
of other religions, but also the life and the behavior of those who
profess to be
Christians.
Instead of being a blessing and a light to others, they are
stumbling stones.
I
encourage you to walk worthy of our calling. As God's word says, "As
you therefore have
received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him" (Colossians 2:6).
Daniel
lived in a country whose system was hostile to his religion and his
faith. He was watched
day
and night by his enemies, yet they could not find a fault to be used
against him. He was
honest,
and he was loved by the king despite his different religion and
faith. In the end, his
enemies
trapped him, and he was put in the lion's den. But he stood faithful
to the end. What was
the
result? God moved on the scene and saved Daniel. And the king gave a
decree saying, "No
other
God should be worshipped but the God of Daniel." I challenge
you to be as Daniel and to
stand
alone.
In
front of our eyes, we have a man who has lived for Christ. His
upright life has given him respect,
dignity,
and reverence of all people. Dr. Billy Graham's life is an example
to every one of us. He is
not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ in a modern world. He believes that
the gospel is the power of
God
unto salvation, and he practices his belief in a hostile world. He
is faithful to God's calling,
even
though he faces hostility.
Hostility
does not necessarily come from rulers and government. Hostility
might even come from
friends,
neighbors, or family members. The Lord said, "Be faithful until
death and I will give you the
crown
of life" (Rev. 2:10b). By being faithful and living an upright
life, Dr. Graham kept the dignity
and
integrity of the gospel of Christ. As a result, he has gained
respect and reverence even from
his
enemies. He has prayed for kings and presidents, and he has prayed
for the whole world.
Dear
brethren, it is true that we are strangers and pilgrims in this
world. It is true that we are hated
by
the world. But our duty and our responsibility is to be the light of
this world and to pray for
those
who oppose us so that they might come to the knowledge of Jesus our
Lord and so find
peace.
In
the Old Testament, there is a command from God to His own people. In
Jeremiah 29:7 we read:
"And
seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried
away captive, and pray to
the
Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace."
Paul
in the New Testament gives us a similar command in 1 Timothy 2:2:
"[Pray] for kings and all
who
are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and reverence." If
we
as believers live this kind of life, we will make a difference in
the world.
You
might say, "We have prayed. We have lived a godly life and we
have shown them the love of
Christ,
but they still persecute us. They are still opposed to us. What can
we do?" That leads me
to
my third pointY
III.
You should know that faithfulness for the Lord and His gospel is a
divine request in
spite
of hostility.
Jesus
said to the angel of the church of Smyrna: "Do not fear any of
those things which you are
about
to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into
prison, that you may be tested,
and
you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I
will give you the crown of life"
(Rev.
2:10).
Dear
believers, a day will come when people will kill us and actually
think that they are doing a
service
to the Lord. Be faithful unto death, be faithful to Christ, and be
faithful to the Word of God.
Jesus
is saying, "Fear not. They are going to put you in prison and
they are going to persecute
you.
Be faithful."
God's
problem with the inhabitants of the earth is their lack of
faithfulness. He said in Hosea 4:1:
"Hear
the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a
charge against the
inhabitants
of the land: 'There is no truth [faithfulness] or mercy or knowledge
of God in the land.' "
God
has a court case with the inhabitants of the earth. To be able to
have a court case, you need
charges.
What are the charges against the inhabitants of the earth?
No
faithfulness on the earth
No
mercy or love on the earth
No
knowledge of God on the earth
There
are three charges, but the first is unfaithfulness. God forbid that
it be said of us that we are
not
faithful. Jesus says to be faithful until death, and He will give
you the crown of life. When we
hear
about the believers who lived under communism and how they were
faithful until death, we are
proud
of them and we have a great respect for them. May the Spirit of the
living Christ help us to
be
faithful to death, as well.
You
might ask, "Is there a way that will help us to keep up our
courage in a hostile world?" Yes,
there
is, which brings me to my fourth pointY
IV.
The only way that will help us to keep our courage is to remember
that JESUS HAS
ALL
AUTHORITY AND POWER.
Jesus
says in Matthew 28:18: "All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth."
Dear
brothers and sisters, we are serving the Lord of glory, the almighty
God. We have to
remember
that Jesus has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. Not
one hair will drop
from
our heads without Him knowing about it.
Remember
that He is the One who wrote by His hand on the wall of the king and
terminated
his
kingdom.
Remember
that He is the One who sent His angel and shut the mouths of the
lions so that
they
would not hurt Daniel.
Remember
that He is the One who walked in the furnace fire with the three
Hebrew
children.
Remember
that He is the One who gave the order to the water of the river of
Jordan to stand
like
a wall.
Remember
that He is the One who stood at Lazarus' tomb saying, "Lazarus,
come forth."
Remember
that He is the One who ordered the storm and the sea to be silent.
Remember
that He is the One who rose from the dead.
Dear
brethren, isn't He worthy to be trusted? Isn't He worthy that we
should even die for His sake?
How
can we be afraid when we remember these things? How can we be afraid
when we look at the
empty
tomb?
Be
faithful until death. Death is not an enemy anymore for the
believer. Death is the way that will
take
us to our eternal home. Death is the channel through which we will
see Jesus. As it is
written,
"While we are at home in [this] body, we are absent from the
Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6).
One
day I was going to a Bible study, and I went through a town
controlled by the Druzes' militia.
Two
men riding on a motorbike approached me. The one in the back pointed
a gun toward me and
waved
me to stop. So I stopped. He then came down from his motorbike, sat
next to me with his
gun
pointed to my side, and said, "Drive!"
When
we got off of the main road, I was really afraid. They took me to a
building far away from the
town,
and within minutes I found myself in a locked room. They took
everything from me except
my
New Testament.
I
prayed and then I opened my New Testament to read, but I was shaking
like a leaf. I couldn't
read,
so I prayed again. I thought that God would help me, but to my
surprise, my fear just grew.
Then
I kneeled down and really poured my heart before the Lord. At that
moment, this verse came
to
mind: "To be absent from the body is to be present with the
Lord." I kept repeating this verse in
my
mind.
Suddenly
I was separated from the love of my wife, my children, my church ‑
and even from life
itself.
I stopped shaking and I was only thinking, "I want to see
Jesus!" At that time, the door
opened
and they took me for questioning. I was like a lion.
To
cut a long story short, while they were questioning me, a gentleman
came to the room. The
men
all stood for him and saluted him. He gave an order that I be sent
back to the room. After a
half
hour had passed, a young man came back with all my papers and said,
"You can go." He was
trying
to take me out through the back door, but I told him that I wanted
to go through the front to
see
the same people who had questioned me and to thank them for letting
me go. So I left from
the
same door I had entered. I went back to those people and thanked
them. Then I promised to
come
back to drink a coffee with them the next week. The second week I
returned with a Bible and
a
letter explaining the way of salvation to them.
Be
faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.
Paul,
facing imminent persecution, understood the importance of his life
ministry, but he also
realized
what an incredible blessing it would be to be with Christ. He
writes, "But if I live on in the
flesh,
this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot
tell. For I am hard
pressed
between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ,
which is far better"
(Philippians
1:23).
Dear
brothers and sisters, do not be afraid of physical death. Jesus
says, "Do not fear those who
kill
the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able
to destroy both soul and body
in
hell" (Matthew 10:28).
With
that being said, let me give you one final principle that will help
each of us to remain strong in
a
hostile worldY
V.
The evangelist needs wisdom from heaven above.
The
evangelist needs wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent.
It is written in
Ecclesiastes
3:1: "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose
under heaven." Then
further
down in verse seven we read, "A time to keep silence and a time
to speak."
We
have to know when to speak and we have to know when to be silent. If
we speak when it is
time
to be silent, it is dangerous; and if we are silent when it is time
to speak, it is also
dangerous.
We
need wisdom from heaven above. James 1:5 says, "If any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask of
God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be
given to him."
Pray
for wisdom, and do not delete from your account the work of the Holy
Spirit or forget the great
promises
of God. Do not forget this precious promise from Jesus: "Whatever
you ask the Father in
My
name He will give you" (John 16:23b).
Our
problem today is that we have lost the greatest weapon against Satan
and against all of our
enemies.
I say it with sorrow in my heart ‑ in these days we have lost
the power of prayer. We
have
neglected this great weapon, which was given to us by God. All the
prophets of the Old
Testament
and the saints of the New Testament triumphed over the world by
prayer.
Elijah
was a man like us, and he prayed that it would not rain for three
years and six months ‑ and
it
did not rain. Later he prayed for rain, and God sent rain.
Joshua
prayed for the sun to stop until they finished the battle against
their enemies, and God
answered
his prayer. And to be able to answer his prayer, God had to change
the solar system! It
is
written in Joshua 10:14: "And there has been no day like that,
before it or after it, that the Lord
heeded
the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel."
Beloved,
let us go back from this conference determining to gain back this
power which has been
lost,
and to pray without ceasing. Pray and believe that our Lord is able.
Pray and ask the Lord to
fight
for us as He fought for Israel in the times of old.
Let
us go back from this conference remembering that we are strangers
and pilgrims on
this
earth.
Let
us go back remembering that we are hated by the world, but loved and
sent forth by the
Lord.
Let
us go back remembering that our behavior and our upright life will
give us respect,
dignity,
and reverence.
Let
us go back remembering that Jesus has ALL authority in heaven AND on
earth.
Let
us go back remembering that we can obtain wisdom from heaven above
when we ask
for
it.
Let
us go back remembering that we possess the greatest power on earth ‑
the power of
prayer.
And let us remember that the power of the Holy Spirit is ours when
we honor Christ.
May
the Lord richly bless you.
Amen.
This
Amsterdam 2000 speech text is under copyright. The author has rights
protected by
international
law. This text is not for reprint or republication. The message
actually delivered at
Amsterdam
2000 may have differed significantly from this text.
