Prayers of Sutherland Springs, Prayers for the Church

                Like all of you, I find myself heartbroken over the news that made its way throughout the media on Sunday afternoon.  Anytime there is a shooting of any variety it causes us to mourn greatly, especially for the families of those lost in such a senseless tragedy.  However, it hits a bit closer to home when you consider the context of this particular shooting.  Within the walls of a church, where roughly 50 or so were gathered for worship, such evil took place.  I think that we can all relate to being in that setting, and the last thing that we expect to happen is for something like this to take place.  Can you imagine attending worship with your family and simply wanting to hear the good news of the gospel, and the morning ends with some of your family no longer on this earth?  I hope that all of you will join me in praying for the victims of this heinous crime not only in the days and weeks to come, but in the years that are ahead as they seek to make sense of the senseless.

                One particular victim that pulls at my heart in a particular way is the pastor’s daughter.  She was only 14 years old.  Her father was in Oklahoma on that particular Sunday and not in the pulpit, which is uncommon for him.  I can relate.  I have never missed more than 3 Sunday’s in any year since entering into pastoral ministry.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that since January 2012, I’ve woken up on fewer than 20 Sunday mornings that I haven’t been tasked with preaching.  I can’t imagine the guilt that I would feel if something were to happen to my family during one of those Sunday’s.  In fact, there’s probably only been a handful of those Sunday’s where my family wasn’t with me wherever I was.  However, as a pastor, I can tell you that his grieving is just as much for the rest of those who lost their life than morning as it is for his own daughter.  I know that’s hard to fathom, but that’s the way that any pastor cares for his congregation.  It may not always seem like it, but that’s the way it is.

                As investigators try and find some motive or reason as to why this happened, they haven’t been able to uncover anything as of yet (Monday morning).  They know the history of the shooter.  They know that he had displayed violence in the past, most notably towards his wife and child.  However, why that particular church at that particular moment is still a mystery.  As one of residents of Sutherland Springs, Texas said in an interview, “This isn’t the type of thing that happens here.  You understand these things in big cities, but not here.  There’s only 1,000 people in the whole town.”  I can remember back when I was working at a church in Mississippi, having a conversation with the pastor about a particularly difficult family situation in the church that we were dealing with.  We actually had discussions on whether or not we needed to take safety precautions to prevent the husband from coming up to the church during worship and taking us out.  After all, when you walk through the double-doors of that church, there isn’t anything between you and the pulpit.  In fact, that’s the way that it is in most churches, and it’s the reason why many churches employ security personnel on Sunday mornings.

                All of this really is enough to make you ask what’s going on in the world isn’t it?  However, when we stop and think about it, it’s still not as bad as it is in other parts of the world.  As horrible as this event and those of a similar nature are, they aren’t as bad as the 100’s and 1000’s of churches that are being persecuted by the governments of other countries.  Every Sunday, we prepare ourselves for a pretty routine worship experience.  For our brothers and sisters in parts of the world that are hostile towards the gospel, they prepare for that particular Sabbath to be the day in which they lay down their lives.  I’m not trying to diminish the tragedy of what happened in that small Texas town a few days ago.  There’s no way to say that it was anything less than an evil and vile act with sin as the root cause.  However, we also can’t forget that ever since the beginning of the Christian faith, there has been persecution.  In fact, it has been the norm rather than the exception.

                Did this shooter attack this particular place because of it being a church?  Did he primarily go after one individual or family in the church?  Was it just a matter of him knowing that Sunday morning worship would be an easy target?  We don’t know, and we may never know.  However, we do know that the bride of Christ has been under attack since the beginning.  We have to prepare ourselves for being attacked, and I’m not talking about with guns.  I’m talking about us understanding that we serve a God who is offensive to this fallen world, and that might place us at odds with the area where we find ourselves at times.  May God give us the strength to truly believe that Jesus Christ is more than enough.

Matthew 5:11-12 "Christ vs. Culture: Where is Your Citizenship?"

                Today we bring our series on the Beatitudes to a close.  We’re finishing our look at this introduction to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Now, I don’t know if it’s my science background or what it is, but I’m a big fan of conclusions.   You know, the scientific method should always have as its end the conclusion; where a brief summation of what it is exactly that we saw during an experiment.  Well, I think it’s important after taking these last eight weeks to look at each of these Beatitudes, these steps to enjoying the blessed life, which we conclude and recap what it is that we have seen as a whole.  Now, there have obviously been things that we have taken from each of these Beatitudes and tried to apply them in our daily lives.  However, there are a couple of things that we can take from them as a whole that I think are of vital importance as we seek to live Godly lives.  The first of which is that without Christ none of this is possible, and the second is that it will cost us.  Well, let’s dive into those two things shall we?

                We’ve ended many weeks together (actually all of them) by talking about how difficult many of these concepts are.  Some of us have even left our time together doubting whether we have the ability to even attempt such changes and outlooks, much less succeed in doing so.  We struggle with wanting to be meek and humble.  We struggle with desiring only God.  We struggle with extending reconciliation and seeking the good of others, especially our enemies.  We have come to the conclusion time and time again that it is only through Christ that any of these things are even remotely possible.  After all, we’re fallen; we’re sinful.  And even with Christ working in us, we will have to fight to incline our hearts in this manner for as long as we live upon this earth.  You see, our hearts are naturally inclined to stray from God.  It’s what we call original sin.  We don’t openly and consciously want to be disobedient, but we just can’t help ourselves.  Like I said, we’re fallen.  There is a disconnect, a separation between us and God because of our sin.

                The second universal theme that I take from our look at the Beatitudes is the cost of it all.  You see, these eight principles or values, these “blessed be’s” that we have been talking about over the past few months are not only difficult to accomplish, but our merely attempting to accomplish them will cause us to be hurt dearly.  Our text for today, tells a bit about that cost.  Matthew 5:11-12 reads, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Now, yes, I’m well aware that Jesus here is speaking about the great reward that we have in heaven.  I’m also well aware of the fact that with each of these calls to live a more Godly life we are told what promise, what benefit we will receive because of our obedience.  However, I’m not talking about some type of relative cost where we give something and in return are given something much more; even though that is exactly what is happening in each of these statements.

                Last Sunday, I told y’all a story about my momentary sympathies for this stray cat causing me to become a moving target for my friends when I was a kid.  I was attacked for doing what I thought was the right thing.  I told y’all about a friend of mine who was insulted by many folks for take a stand that he felt he had to as part of his being a Christian.  We ended our time together by me telling you that if your faith doesn’t cause you to come under fire then you may not be standing as close to Jesus as you think you are.  I mean, think about how Jesus is concluding this introduction here, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”  Come on; who really wants to sign up for something like that?  Remember what I told y’all was the greatest friend repellent out there?  That’s right; the gospel.  Why is it such a repellent for others?  Well, it’s because it is opposed to the world around us.  You see, the ways of the world and the ways of God will never be fully and completely in line because the world is filled with sin, it’s fallen and inclined towards promotion of things that are opposed to God.  Jesus is telling us here that we will be filled completely by God when other insult us and seek our harm simply because of Jesus’ name.  We don’t doubt that for one second, but it’s tough for us to think of insults and physical harm as part of a blessed life.  In fact, those are two of the last things we would associate with a blessed or happy life.

                Just think about what we’ve seen over the past few months.  Jesus calls us to be poor in spirit, to understand our own sin.  The world doesn’t even recognize sin.  The world tells us that what I call sin someone else calls their way of life.  Jesus tells us to grieve our own sin.  The world says be your absolute best; don’t focus on your failures.  There’s no time for self-pity.  Jesus tells us to be meek, to be humble servants.  The world tells us that if we’re not successful then we are nothing; we need to strive to be in charge and in a position of leadership.  Jesus tells us that we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to fill our lives with God alone.  The world tells us to fill our lives with stuff; to hunger and thirst for more things.  Jesus says that we are to show mercy.  The world says that victory is all that matters; win at any cost.  Jesus calls us to be pure, holy, and set apart.  The world says that there is no such thing as true purity; it’s just a matter of perspective.  Jesus calls us to extend peace, to extend that shalom that we looked at a few weeks ago to others.  The world tells us to take care of ourselves and stand our ground.  And finally, the concept that we looked at last week which really is sort of the intro to this last section and the summation of the entirety of the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us to rejoice in our suffering and persecutions.  The world tells us that we would rather be the cat than the mouse any day; that a life without hardships is one that is truly blessed.

                You see, we’re all at a crossroads when it comes to where we find ourselves today.  Are we members of the kingdom of heaven or are we citizens of the kingdom of this world?  We can’t be part of both.  I have to admit that I spent a lot of time trying to walk a fine line between these two worlds.  I spent a lot of time saying that I was a different kind of Christian, a different kind of pastor, who could balance himself on this tightrope that let me be a part of both kingdoms.  However, I wasn’t some new kind of Christian.  I was an average, typical, run-of-the-mill confused sinner.  I was someone who was so clouded by the ideals of this world that I couldn’t even see what my own sin, what my own selfish desires had done to me.  You see, that’s the thing about sin, it’s subtle.  We can all recognize what I call “obvious sins.”  We can all acknowledge that stealing and murder are bad, or can we?  I’ll let you think about that one for just a second.  Have you ever justified stealing in your mind?  Have you ever justified a murder?  Like I said, sin is subtle and dangerous.

                The kingdom of God and the ways of this world will never be fully in line with one another because one is filled with sin and one is not.  I know that I keep saying it, but it’s worth repetition.  Does this mean that we give up all hope and all efforts to make this world a better place?  Do we give up ever trying to shape society in the image of God?  Of course not, it’s just that we never really expect it to happen.  Jesus is speaking here primarily to his apostles.  He’s reminding them that all those who proclaimed Jesus before his birth, the prophets, were persecuted.  He’s telling them of the persecution that they will Jesus endure during his earthly ministry.  And he’s telling them that they too will be persecuted simply because they follow Jesus and are associated with him. 

                Look, here’s what I’m getting at here and what I’ve been working towards for the past couple of months:  the Christian life, the blessed life, is a new way of life and a different way of life.  We’re not to be driven by what the world defines as successful.  We’re not to desire power and money and fame.  We’re to desire Christ, to hunger and thirst for him.  The goals of life shouldn’t be to have a perfect family, a good job, a comfortable life, financial security, etc.  Now, I don’t want to make it seem like any of those things are bad in-and-of themselves because they’re not.  They are if they become our primary focuses in life, but kept in proper perspective they’re all good things.  You see, our goals in life as Christians are simply:  we are to glorify God and enjoy him always.  Those are to be our number one priorities in life.  We are to seek God’s glorification above all other things.

                We’re to seek his glorification over our own achievements, our own security, our own comfort, and our own desires.  There will be times in life when glorifying God means making the difficult choice.  There will be times when we’re persecuted, insulted, and maybe even harmed physically because of our desire to glorify him.  I know that sounds harsh, but I’m simply relaying the message that Jesus gave over 2000 years ago.  He told his disciples then (and us today) that persecutions weren’t just a possibility, but that they were going to happen when we truly live Godly lives.  We saw last Sunday Jesus tell us that very thing.  We saw the Apostle Paul say that, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 

                I’ll close things today simply by asking a few questions.  First, are you insulted, persecuted, or harmed in any way because of your faith?  Second, do you desire God’s glorification more than you desire your own personal worldly success?  Third, are you making the difficult choices for the sake of following Christ?  If you’re being honest with yourself, does your faith really ever come into play when making a decision?  Fourth, do you trust God in those moments of hardship and suffering to care for you or do you just pray for things to be over as quick as possible.  Now, I’m not trying to ask these questions to make anyone feel bad about themselves.  I’m simply asking them because many times we hear about suffering and being persecuted because of our faith but we never actually do.  We claim that our moments of hardship that we’re trusting in God, but we never even considered him when getting to that low point.

                Friends, it’s a tough place outside these walls.  When I step outside into the world I feel like I have to have my head on a swivel.  I feel like evil is out to attack me and my family at every turn.  And you know what, it is.  You see, sin is everywhere.  Even in the good things in life, there is sin hiding somewhere waiting for a moment of weakness to occur.  Like I’ve said, the world is sinful, and therefore not in line with God’s will.  We’re going to be persecuted, we’re going to be hated, and we’re going to be insulted; that just means that we’re doing our job right.  That means that we are following Jesus.  The question becomes if you feel that you’re hated, insulted, or persecuted.  If you don’t, much like last Sunday, maybe you’re not standing or following Jesus as close as you thought you were.  But if you are, “rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”

Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are the Persecuted"

                I’ve always been a convicted person.  I’ve typically always had the right motives in mind, but I’ve always been one of those people who make a decision and stand behind it no matter what.  It used to infuriate my parents when I was younger.  “Why can’t you just give a little bit?  Why do you have to be so stubborn?”  Well, the good news for them is that about 10 years ago it became more of Amy’s problem; although they do still have to deal with it from time-to-time.  When I was a kid I was out playing with some friends of mine with our bb guns, which as far as we were concerned were high powered sniper rifles.  We were in the woods behind one of my friend’s house when we discovered an abandoned building.  It was decided upon by the group that we were going to start shooting our bb guns at various places on this old building.  All of a sudden, a cat came walking out.  One of my friends decided, “Hey let’s shoot the cat.”  Now, I don’t know what it is with me, but I have this weird thing about killing animals.  I won’t bat an eye when it comes to shooting a dove, turkey, deer, or any other animal as long as I’m hunting it.  However, if it’s an animal that isn’t supposed to be hunted, then I don’t deal with death very well.  My mom can probably still tell you about the week-long mourning for my pet hamster, which ended in a 30 minutes funeral service that I conducted when I was in elementary school.  But getting back to my friends, I told them that they needed to stop shooting the cat because it hadn’t done anything to them.  However, they had already gotten used to trying to shoot a moving target, so guess where their crosshairs turned to next?  That’s right, I got real used to dodging enemy fire that day.  I’m just glad none of them were good shots or had guns strong enough to shoot as far as I ran.

                Why do I tell you this story?  Well, as I was running from my friends, I couldn’t help but think “This is not what I had in mind when I spoke up.  I was only doing the right thing and this is what I get for it?”  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Now, I’ll admit that saving a cat may not be the most righteous of acts, but you get the idea.  Do you know what the primary complaint that I hear from people who are struggling with their faith is?  I hear many folks say that they didn’t know that it was going to be so hard to be a Christian in this world.  They didn’t expect persecution; they didn’t expect hatred from the world around them.  We mentioned last Sunday that the world many times laughs at calling Christians peacemakers because Christians seem to be the ones who don’t let peace happen.  Also, remember that peace, as far as we Christians are concerned, is much more than simply the absence of conflict.  Paul, writing to the younger Timothy, encouraged him by reminding him on the presence of persecution.  Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 saying, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.  Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

                Now, I’m going to take some time next Sunday and go through some of the persecutions and conflicts that we face in this life and in our society today, so I don’t want to give everything away today.  However, I want you to either follow along in your Bibles or just listen as I read these words from Matthew 10:16-25.  “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.  When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.  For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.  A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”

                You see, anyone who doesn’t know that persecution is part of the Christian life, part of this blessed life, simply hasn’t been paying attention.  Numerous times throughout his earthly ministry, most notably in the text that we just read, Jesus told his disciples that persecution is going to happen.  We’ve already seen that it was part of the Apostle Paul’s teaching.  We spent a great deal of time reading and looking closely at the book of Acts a while back.  We walked through the history of the establishment of the early church.  If you will recall, during that look, persecution was the norm for what the apostles faced.  The second half of Acts 5 tells the story of the apostles being arrested and beaten (flogged) in front of the crowds.  They weren’t treated as such because they opposed God, but because they were speaking and teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus.  You see, it was because of the name of Jesus that the apostles faced hardships.  I was because of the name of Jesus that Stephen was put to death.  It was because of the name of Jesus that Paul was persecuted at almost every moment of his life.  It is because of the name of Jesus that so many Christian martyrs are put to death each year.  It is because of the name of Jesus that we are under attack today.  Folks are fine with agreeing that there is some higher power out there who is over all things.  Some are even alright with attaching the name God to this higher power.  However, it is when we bring Jesus, as the Son of God, into the equation that things start to get a little uneasy.  It’s then when those folks start pointing to Christians and saying that we are the divisive ones who just can’t get along or play well with others.

                Look, we all know that we go through hardships in life.  They are a part of life whether we like it or not.  However, are you suffering just in general or are you suffering for the name of Christ?  Is your suffering an earthly one or are you suffering for as Jesus called it “righteousness’ sake”?  Is your suffering because of your faith?  People get sick.  People die.  Those are natural sufferings.  What I’m talking about is if you are suffering for the glorification of God’s kingdom and the spread of his gospel.  I’ll be honest with y’all, I’ve lost a lot of friends over the past few years of my life.  If you’ve got any unwanted friends in your life I know how to get rid of them.  Tell them that you’re going to become a pastor.  Tell them that you have felt God place a specific calling upon your life and that you will spend the rest of your life leading God’s people however he calls you.  Now, I know that not everyone is called into pastoral ministry, but even if you tell someone that you have made a newer and deeper commitment to Christ, some people will try and drop you like a bad habit.  You see, we’re all called into ministry.  Martin Luther referred to this as the priesthood of all believers.  “Whoever comes out of the water of baptism can boast that he is already a consecrated priest, bishop, and pope, although of course it is not seemly that just anybody should exercise such office….There is no true, basic difference between laymen and priests….except for the sake of office and work, but not for the sake of status.”

                I talk to a lot of people throughout the week via social media, text messaging, and email that have all known me for quite a while.  They knew me prior to my call to ministry and so they have seen the sort of two periods of my life, the pre-pastoral and pastoral stages of my life.  They often share stories with me about friendships that get severed and lost because of one growing in their faith and their love for the gospel while the other grows more in their consumption of the world.  Like I said, I’m going to really get into the opposition that exists between our culture and our faiths next Sunday, but I think this one example will help us in clarifying what it means to suffer for righteousness’ sake.  One of my friends confided in me that he and someone who was in his wedding were no longer friends because of a recent discovery that his friend had as to his being a homosexual.  Nothing divisive happened between them, but my friend just thought that for the sake of his relationship with the Lord that he didn’t need to spend all that time around this non-repentant sinner.  He would love to witness to him, to exemplify that being a peacemaker that we saw last Sunday, but that’s not what his friend wants.  His friend wants to act like nothing has changed except for instead of his being married to his wife; he’s now divorced and dating men.  My friend’s stance, which he made clear to his friend, caused all the friendship to stop.  His newly realized homosexual friend began to hurl insults at him and degrade him and call him everything under the sun except a nice guy.  Mutual friends of theirs began to hate my friend for being so closed-minded that he would turn his back on his friend because of what some book says.  Obviously anyone who can look at Scripture as just some book isn’t a heart that has heard the call of God and run to him yet.  But as my friend was telling me this story, he said, “I was just trying to follow God’s commands.  I was just trying to do the right thing.”  Immediately my mind went back to that cat coming out of that abandoned building.

                When you stand for righteousness, when you stand for the gospel, how comfortable are you?  Or let me put it like this, are you having rocks thrown at you or bb’s shot at you when you stand close to Jesus.  Now, in our country today, these things rarely literally happen, but you get what I mean.  If you’re so comfortable in your faith that you don’t feel persecuted, that you don’t feel even just the slightest bit at odds with the world around you, then maybe you’re not as close to Jesus as you think.  Now, I’m not trying to tell everyone that they’re wrong in their faiths.  What I’m trying to get across is that if you don’t feel persecution from the outside world, then something isn’t right.  If you don’t feel like this broken, fallen, and sinful world is at odds with what you believe in your heart to be right and true, then you have to ask yourself if you truly understand the gospel.  Like I said, we’re going to get into the contrast between this blessed life that we’ve spent the past two months looking at and the successful life as the world defines it next Sunday.  But in the meantime, I want all of you to take this list of eight things and to think them over.  Do I mourn my sin?  Do I long for Jesus above all other things?  Do I extend mercy?  Am I persecuted by a world that looks different than me or am I just another part of the world?  And I want you to bring those answers with you next Sunday as we conclude this series on the Beatitudes.  You see, a blessed life doesn’t necessarily mean successful life in terms of wealth and fame.  It doesn’t mean easy life.  It can be those things, but it doesn’t have to be.  The Blessed life means a life that is filled by God, and that is a life that puts us directly at odds with all the sin of the world that surrounds us every day.  But just know, that in that persecution, that is where true blessedness lies.  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

A Response to Mayor Parker's Subpoenas

So the mayor of Houston has issued subpoenas for all sermons preached from the pulpit of (what I would assume are) conservative evangelical churches.  My response to her claims is not the norm; I happen to be excited by this news.  Now, let me take a moment to explain my excitement.  First off, I’m not a pastor in Houston, so I don’t have to fool with this non-sense.  I’m sure that if I were in Houston and had to comply with mayor Annise Parker’s request I would be highly irritated; especially since not complying could render me being held in contempt of court. 

                The second reason why I’m so excited about this turn of events is that I think it is a golden opportunity for lots of us to have fun with it.  First off, I would go well beyond the boundaries of just “sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity, or the city’s first openly lesbian mayor herself”.  I would send in every sermon that I have a manuscript for and just state that the same principle (i.e. the gospel) that was behind those sermons speaking out against these particular sins is the same principle behind all other sermons.  After all, my mother always taught me that it’s better to be over-prepared and give too much information than not enough.  I wouldn’t want to accidentally miss sending something that the mayor could find offensive and be held in contempt.  After all, aren’t we always begging people to really pay attention to and dissect our sermons?  I can think of no better way for the gospel to convict this woman and her associates than by reading some really gospel-centered sermons that had been preached by some really Godly folks.

                Alright…enough picking on Mayor Parker and her foolish ideas.  Ultimately I think that this will turn out, much like Y2K did back nearly 15 years ago, to be much ado about nothing.  Clearly this is an infringement upon the First Amendment rights of the pastors and churches.  The First Amendment states:  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  One website that I read added: 

“The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement.  “The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.”  ADF, a nationally-known law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is representing five Houston pastors.  They filed a motion in Harris County court to stop the subpoenas arguing they are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing, and vexatious.” 

                Now regardless of how angry we may get at the mere notion of this subpoena taking place or how laughable we might find all of this, there is a greater message to be taken from all of this.  Later on in the same article referenced earlier (taken from Fox News) we find this statement, “However, ADF attorney Stanley suspects the mayor wants to publicly shame the ministers. He said he anticipates they will hold up their sermons for public scrutiny. In other words – the city is rummaging for evidence to “out” the pastors as anti-gay bigots.”  And there is the ultimate threat that I see in all of this:  the attempt to paint all pastors as anti-gay bigots.  Make no mistake about it, there are attacks out there.  We are constantly in a time of spiritual warfare.

                The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6, talks about the Armor of God.  Remember that Paul was no stranger to political and government oppression.  There were even times where his rights as a Roman citizen were completely trampled on and overlooked by those in positions of authority.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV)

                One of the things that I have always taken from this text on the Armor of God is to look at the types of weapons that are mentioned.  We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Notice that every piece of the Armor of God that is mentioned is a defensive weapon except for the word of God.  Friends, the word of God is the only offense that we have against the dark world that surrounds us and seems to be drawing closer each day.  If the mayor of Houston, the city council, or any other group of people opposed to the Christian message want to invite the word of God into their lives to study it and spend time with it…LET THEM!  I can think of no better way to change the world than by taking the one thing that has the power to change it and placing it in the hands of those who are most in need of it.

                In the meantime, let's all be in prayer for Houston and the rest of our country.  I can promise you that if this is occurring in Texas, it is only a matter of time before it is attempted in other parts of the country.  Pray for your pastors.  Pray that they would have the strength and courage to proclaim the gospel faithfully and truthfully regardless of the legal outcome.