There are times, simply put, when tribulation hits us like a ton of bricks, and there is nothing we can do about it but take what comes to us. So often though, we are caught completely off guard when the trouble hits, as though we believed, whether consciously or not, that such sufferings are for others but not us and for other places, other times and for those in circumstances we could not even begin to imagine, relate to, or empathise with, but then they happen nevertheless. We are warned clearly by the Word, and often by revelation, even as Paul was once warned by a prophet, and yet we forget, or try to forget, that this is indeed the reality we must face in life and will face if we go on walking in the Kingdom of God:
1 Pet 4:12-13 (NIV) Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Pet 2:19-23 (Phi) A man does a fine thing when he endures pain, with a clear conscience towards God, though he knows he is suffering unjustly. After all, it is no credit to you if you are patient in bearing a punishment which you have richly deserved! But if you do your duty and are punished for it and can still accept it patiently, you are doing something worthwhile in God's sight. Indeed this is your calling. For Christ suffered for you and left you a personal example, so that you might follow in his footsteps.
1 Thes 3:3 (NIV) so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know that we were destined for them.
1 Pet 1:6-7 (Phi) This means tremendous joy to you, even though at present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. This is no accident--it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire.
In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabus, while in Iconium, were preaching the gospel. After having a time of success, the city was divided about what they thought of them, so much so that the Jews, Gentiles and rulers of Iconium made a violent attempt to stone the pair. Paul and Barnabus, becoming aware of the plot, fled to Lystra where they continued to preach the Gospel. While they were there, God used Paul to heal a man crippled from birth. So amazed were the people of Lystra, that they tried to sacrifice to both of them, thinking they were gods. Paul and Barnabus could scarcely stop them from sacrificing to them. Then Jews came and persuaded the people against them, so that, in the next moment, they turned against Paul and Barnabus, and ended up stoning Paul. Supposing him to be dead, they dragged him outside the city. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went back INTO the city. The next day he left with Barnabus to Derbe:
Acts 14v21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25 Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.
27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Here, what happened to Paul, and did not shake him, if it had happened to us, I think very few would've kept going with the work of the Lord. And I think most of us would've started to question where God was in our lives! I think most of us would've said, "Where was our God when we needed protection?" "Where was His power when we needed it?" "We were doing His work, so why didn't He stop those that came against us?" But both Paul and Silas were, it seems fairly obviously, ready for extreme and violent tribulation; to the extent that they knew that severe suffering and death could very well be waiting for them around the next corner of life, all for the sake of serving Him, and walking according to His will, and according to the Kingdom of God. Paul's mindset was such that, even after having gone through what must have been the shock of being liked to the point of nearly being worshipped, to being hated to the point of people trying to kill him, he didn't freak out, he didn't get mad at God, he didn't stop following or serving, and didn't even stop to rest or wait for a while, just to make sure God was with him! Amazing, incredible, what we would even call heroic in Christian circles these days, and yet to him, and to Barnabus, this was sudden and violent tribulation that didn't surprise, upset, daunt, slow or stop them in any way. It didn't lead them to a crisis of confidence, and it didn't get them to question their God or their doctrine or faith, because both were founded and found in, what was true; not halve truths, not shallow sayings of men and not from opinions and from fleshly mixtures of what many called truth. Far from it, their faith, confidence, strength and hope was founded upon the Word of God, and upon a solid understanding of God and of the way of God because of it. An experience that would've flawed most of us, DIDN'T EVEN SHAKE THEIR FAITH, rather they ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO CONTINUE IN THEIR FAITH: "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14v22). Not only that, but they looked at the positive side of things; "...they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." God had done a miraculous work with them, and a work that we are told in Chapter 14 that had included God doing signs and wonders via their hands, to confirm the Word of His Grace (14v3).
We as Christians are living in a society today that, whether we know it or not, has done a very good job of indoctrinating us to believe that all suffering is evil, and is to be avoided at all costs. Society today believes that most suffering can either be avoided or cured in some way, if we work hard enough at it. Whether this is by thinking it away, through positivity or the worldly belief that we can be masters of our own fate, or by popping a pill, or by wealth and a wealth of experiences, society implores us to believe that we can have it all, and that whatever we suffer can be stopped or assuaged in some way, and that we must do all we can to make this happen. Not only does society believe this, but much of the Church now believes it, and preaches it in ways that are subtle and that use scripture in order to prove their mistaken beliefs. Whether by intentional or unintentional deception, a lack of true understanding of the Word, a greed for gain, or a simple case of being influenced and corrupted by the very culture they seek to save, Churches are increasingly preaching prosperity and an idolatry of self, which fails to recognise the ultimate truth that believers of God must embrace if they are to continue following Christ: Christians must take up the cross to follow Him, deny themselves and must, not only the world to hate them and to come against them, but also many tribulations and many trials. Not only this, but we must expect sudden and violent tribulations, just like Paul and Barnabas faced, and therefore we must take to us the same mindset that they had, in preparation for such things, lest they derail us from the faith we believe we are so secure in: 1 Cor 10v12: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
As we are children of God, sudden and violent tribulations will have already happened to most of us, and if not, they will, as the Bible says that 'we were destined for them' (1 Thess 3v3). However, the kind of trials that we have faced, in comparison to what Paul faced, and in comparison to what is to come in the future of our world, do not compare to what has been. We too, along with Paul, will face sudden and violent tribulation, the likes of which will make many us experience what Paul did in terms of his reaction to them:
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
The trial that is coming to the world is unlike what many of us have ever experienced. War will come to America and Australia will be involved. Asteroids will hit the earth and terrorism will take place around the world. Fires and storms have already ravaged Australia, and for all we know, the worst may still be yet to come. Great destruction is coming to Sydney and Hillsong will experience a terrorist attack. A nuclear bomb will detonate out to sea from the East Coast of Australia around the area of the Gold Coast and Tweed Heads (all these things the Lord has shown me in dreams and visions. Already great fires and storms have hit Australia, and already terrorist attacks have hit the world, even in recent days, including the first one in America since 9/11 since I released the fact that the Lord had shown me these things were coming in dreams). Sudden and violent tribulations are coming, and we must begin to take the same mindset that Paul and Barnabus had in not only following the Lord, but in serving Him as well. When these things happen we must not be shaken in our faith, and we must not waver. We must not go back and we must not doubt the Lord who saved us, but believe in Him and believe in His Word (not a shallow and fleshly version of it, but the Word as it is). The Word clearly warns us that we are destined for tribulations, so this shouldn't shock or surprise us. The Word clearly tells us that we will suffer, so we must prepare ourselves accordingly. The Lord has not only been faithful to us in warning us in His Word, but warning us by revelation and by the revelations of His Spirit, and so we must recognise this, and take heed accordingly- the Lord does not warn for no reason, and He reveals the future that we might be prepared and that His children's faith and spiritual life might be protected at all costs. We must take unto ourselves the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation and we must take unto ourselves the sword of the Spirit and shod our feet with the Good News. We must be ready in season and out of season, for out of season is coming, and it is an incredibly dark and stormy time. We must cast aside the shallow preachings and doctrines of deceitful and deceived men, and cast aside notions that we are only destined for prosperity and protection, we are destined for great sufferings. Yes, these sufferings may also include many deliverances, even as the Apostles experienced, but these deliverances did not make the journey easy, or their pains often any less. They were delivered in order that they might continue to follow Christ and continue to serve Him, and to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ. Rest will come when we enter the Kingdom, and ultimate deliverance when we stand face to face with our Lord and Saviour. Until then we must recognise that our true identity is found in the reality that we are soldiers for the Kingdom, and that we must fight the good fight of faith. Our lives were never meant to be lived for us, but lived for Him, and this means that we must lay down what is most precious to us, for He bought what was already His, and so we are not our own: 2 Cor 5v15: 'And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.'
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