The song that we just sang, You Are My Hiding Place, is drawn from the scriptures. It was written, that song was written in order to go with the movie, The Hiding Place, which if you haven't seen, you ought to see. Great film, The Hiding Place. It's the true story of a woman I had the privilege of knowing during my teenage years. Her name was Corrie Ten Boom. She was the first female watchmaker in Holland. You had to be licensed in order to be able to make watches and things like that, and she was, no woman had ever accomplished that before. She accomplished that. She then had a tremendous ministry just as a volunteer working with people who were mentally disabled and pouring her life into them, trying to point them to Jesus. And then there was a war with Nazi Germany, and the Jews were being rounded up and killed And she and her family sheltered Jews in their home in order to protect them from the Nazis. They were eventually betrayed and caught. And her family was taken to concentration camp. And she was the only one who survived. And that by a miraculous deliverance. We're talking about the Reformation. Why in the world would I start out with a story like that? Well, for one thing, because we just sang that song. Thank you. And for another thing, because I don't want you to think that the Reformation is something that happened 500 years ago. 500 years ago, there was a pivotal turning point in Reformation history. But as we mentioned when we first introduced the subject of the Reformation, Hundreds of years earlier, there were people who were proclaiming the truth, who were willing to pay a price in order that others would know the truth. And over and over, those individuals discovered those truths as they studied the Scriptures. As you look back at Reformation history, you have a pivotal event 500 years ago. October 31st, 1517. Absolutely pivotal event. Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. But before Luther, there were others. And after Luther, there were others. And what I want you to understand is that if you really embrace the truths of the Reformation, the Reformation is still going on today. There are still people today who are discovering, hey, the Bible says this. I always thought this. And they choose to go with what the Bible says rather than what they thought, they felt, they like, other people around them told them. That's the Reformation still happening. You're completely getting away from the history of what happened. No, no, no. I'm trying to help you understand that what happened in history was God working in order to change lives. It is the truth that sets people free. And I want you to understand that this is exactly the sort of thing that has cost many people their lives and that Jesus said we should expect to be costly. Let me share with you a few passages this morning. From Matthew chapter 10, beginning in verse 16. Matthew 10, beginning in verse 16. Look, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, because they will hand you over to local courts and flog you in their synagogues. You will even be brought before governors and kings because of me to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, don't worry about how or what you are to speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour. Because it isn't you speaking, but the spirit of your father is speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. but the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. For truly, I tell you, you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher or a slave above his master. It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household. That was from Matthew 10. Then in Matthew 24, Jesus describes the things that will be happening at the end of history and he says this, Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many, because lawlessness will multiply. The love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. That's from Matthew chapter 24. Jesus says in John chapter 15, if the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don't know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. The one who hates Me also hates My Father." By the way, please get hold of that. The one who hates Me also hates My Father. There's no such thing as loving God, not loving Jesus. No such thing. People who reject Jesus, but claim that they still love God, don't have a clue about who God is. The one who hates me also hates my Father. If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, They would not have sin. Now they've seen and hated both me and my father. But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled. They hated me for no reason." Now, I want you to think of who would be sort of the poster child for persecuting the church in the New Testament. Who was somebody who persecuted the church in the New Testament? Can you think of anybody? Saul. Saul. Why do you persecute me? Saul of Tarsus was a vicious opponent of the church. And he traveled from place to place arresting believers and having them beaten and imprisoned and even killed. He was a horrible persecutor of the church. What happened to him? Well, God happened to him. He got saved. He got turned around. So please understand that when believers are persecuted, that doesn't mean their persecutors are just evil people for whom there is no hope except our hope that someday they will be burning in hell. No. We ought to be praying not only for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world right now who are being persecuted for their faith, but they would ask us to also be praying for their persecutors. Pray for those who are persecuting our brothers and sisters that God will change their hearts. It happens. Corrie ten Boom, who I spoke of earlier, shares the story of how after the war, when she was traveling and spreading the gospel, telling people about how God will meet you in the deepest, darkest places. He will care for you when it seems as if there is no hope. And there's no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still. As she was bringing that message all across Europe, she was approached after one of the meetings by a man that she recognized. He had been a guard in the concentration camp and had been particularly cruel to her sister who died in the concentration camp. And she recognized this man and he said, Ms. Ten Boom, I've become a believer in Jesus, and I'm coming here today to ask your forgiveness for the horrible things that I did. And he reached out his hand. And she said, I couldn't move. This man had been so brutal, so vicious, and I couldn't just forget what he had done. But now he's standing before me saying that Jesus has saved him and he wants my forgiveness. What am I gonna do? I can't shake his hand. And she prayed and said, God, I can't, but you can. Help me. And with the power of the Holy Spirit, she reached out and took that man's hand and extended a sign of forgiveness to him. Because God forgives sinners. You and I would spend forever in hell were it not for the grace of God. You and I would have no hope were it not for the fact that Jesus came to save sinners. And so Corrie ten Boom, by God's grace, was able to forgive because the Holy Spirit lived in her. And through her, extended love and forgiveness to a man who'd done horrible things. Part of our problem, when we look at this whole business of Reformation, is that we tend to think it's other people who need to reform. It's other people who need to change. I mean, we're okay, we're good. Whatever we believe is right. Now folks, I wouldn't believe something if I didn't think it was right. Would you? I mean, if you don't think it's right, you don't believe it. But the fact of the matter is, we're not all perfect either. And there are things that God wants to show us, and that's why we have to keep going back to His Word. What does God say? What does God say? Not sitting around with our eyes shut, hoping to get some kind of deep impression, and then we'll know the revelation. No. What does God say? Open your eyes. Read this book. See what He says in His Word. This is how God speaks to His people. And this word doesn't change. At the heart of the Reformation was getting the Bible into the hands of the people so that they could read for themselves what God said. And let me tell you, one of the consequences of the Reformation was a huge sea change in terms of literacy. There were lots of people who had jobs that didn't require them to read and write. But knowing God is made infinitely better when you can read, because then you can read God's Word. And so the motivation for widespread public education was to make it possible for people to read the Bible and know what God says. It's called Don't Take My Word For It, Check It Out For Yourself. Find out what God says. See what the Bible says. Years ago, I was about to pray with a dear friend. We'd become friends over the course of the year. I'll rewind a little bit. My wife and I had moved into an apartment complex in Massachusetts, and we immediately began to pray that God would give us someone we could share the gospel with. She found a young lady in the laundry area, and she thought, that's the one I'm supposed to share with. And I saw a guy working on his car, and I felt like the Lord said, that's the one you're supposed to share with. Turned out they were husband and wife. We didn't know that. But we were delighted to find that out, because that made it a little simpler, have the two of them over to eat at our place, that kind of thing. I found, you remember Jesus when he encountered the woman at the well? Jesus said to her, would you give me something to drink? Now Jesus could have just created a pitcher full of ice water if he'd wanted, or actually if the father had told him to. But instead, he asked her to do something for him. And oftentimes, that is an effective way of getting a conversation started if you're wanting to share your faith. Because if you come in and it's like, hey, drop what you're doing. I'm here to change your life, folks will tend to be put off by that just a bit. But if you show that you're vulnerable, you have needs too, and you respect them as having something to bring to the table, and you ask them for assistance, It's not being dishonest. It's called engaging the other person. You ask them for something that they can do for you, and then you reciprocate by sharing something with them that is life-changing. I've found that that is often a helpful strategy. And so I decided to do that with this young man. And having seen that he was working on his car, I said, so you like to work on cars. thinking I would ask him to help me with my decrepit older car. And he said, no, actually, I hate working on cars. I was just having to fix something on mine. I thought, OK, forget that. I said, oh, OK. Well, as we're talking, this guy, it's pretty obvious that he does do something else besides work on cars. Now, I know you can't tell right now, but I'm flexing. And this guy was super ripped. I mean, he had great muscles. And so I said, so you like working out? And he said, oh, yeah, every chance I get, I thought. That's where we build the bridge. And I said, well, I'm new here in the complex. would you be willing to show me how to use the exercise equipment over at the fitness center? Apartment complex we were living in had a fitness center. He said, oh, I'd love to. That's it. So we went to the fitness center, which, by the way, just for those of you who don't know this about me, that was like offering to give a kidney. I hate fitness centers. I hate working out. That's why when I flex, you can't tell. But I offered, actually asked, to go with this guy to the fitness center and learn how to use the fitness equipment. So when we set a time and date, and he said, have you got a jump rope? And I said, no. And he said, well, you need to bring one. So I went to Kmart, and I bought a jump rope. said, right on the box, jump rope. And I got that. It was an adult jump rope. They have kiddie jump ropes, too, that are made out of something. But I got an adult jump rope and I went, If mine was an adult jump rope, his was a cyborg jump rope. He had handles with ball bearings in them so that the thing would spin really freely. And his was made of leather. Mine was made of rope. So he says, you want to start out by jumping rope to warm up. And he begins to make his rope invisible. It's turning so fast. And he's just like a professional athlete. I'm over there going, warming up, you see. So as we're warming up, he asked me a question. He knew that I worked for a Baptist church. And he said, so what's the difference between Baptist and Christian? I said, I'm sorry, what? Actually, I said, I'm sorry, what? And he said, well, you know, between Baptist and Catholic. Because to him, having grown up Roman Catholic, If you were a Catholic, you were a Christian. If you were not a Catholic, you weren't a Christian. Where in the world would you get an idea like that? From the Catholic Church. Pope Boniface had said back in, I think, about 1300 AD, that if you were not submitted to the pope, the Bishop of Rome, you were not a Christian. You're not part of the Catholic church, which means universal church. And so to this guy, because I wasn't a Roman Catholic, I must not be a Christian. So what's the difference between being a Baptist and a Christian? And I said, I stopped jumping. I was so glad to stop jumping. I stopped jumping and I said, well, actually, John, it is possible to be a Baptist and still be a Christian. He said, really? I said, yes. I said, of course, there are lots of Baptists who aren't Christians, which is true, by the way. And I said, but of course, it's also possible to be a Catholic and be a Christian or to be a Catholic and not be a Christian. Now he stopped jumping. He said, what do you mean? And I began to share with him the gospel. That's how our relationship and discussion of spiritual things got started. We went through a year of studying the Bible together, focused on the book of Romans. And toward the end of that time, the Holy Spirit impressed on me one night, tonight's the night you need to pray with John to receive Christ. So I called John on the phone, went over to his house, And as I'm about to pray with him, because he was ready. I mean, it was like God knew this is the time. And so I went and it was great. He was just ready to pray and ask Jesus to save him. And his wife walked in the apartment. and i thought oh my goodness okay now you know i'm gonna have to explain what's going on she'd been coming to the bible study too but the holy spirit and told me that she was ready i knew i was speak to john she comes in and uh... i said hi linda we are uh... just about to pray and she said oh okay and i said john is about to ask jesus to save him he wants to be born again She kind of looked like, hmm. And I said, Linda, let me ask you a question. You know that you've sinned, right? And she said, yes. And I said, and you know that the punishment that we deserve for our sin is to spend eternity in hell? Yes. She'd gotten all of that going through the Book of Romans. And I said, And you understand that Jesus is God incarnate. He came into this world in order to die on the cross to pay for our sins. Yes, she had accepted that. She believed that intellectually. And so I asked her, I said, you understand that Being forgiven and receiving eternal life from Jesus is not something you can earn or deserve. It's a gift from God. And she said, I always thought you had to earn it. That was an honest answer. She could have just said, uh-huh. But instead, she was thinking and she was being honest. And she said, I always thought you had to earn it. And I said, well, let's look and see what the Bible says. Now, I had some Bible typical to Protestants. She had a Roman Catholic Bible. I said, go get your Bible, please. Because I didn't want her wondering if the reason the Bible said what I was about to show her is because it was my Bible. So I said, go get your Bible, please. And she did. She went to her bedroom. She got her Bible. She brought it in. It was a Roman Catholic approved Bible. And I said, let's look together at Ephesians chapter 2. Would you read it to me? And so she read in Ephesians chapter 2 about the fact that at one time all of us were dead in trespasses and sins, but God made us alive in Christ Jesus. And she read about the fact that eternal life Salvation comes as a gift from God. It says, for by grace, you're saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, lest anyone should boast. And I said, what does that say? And she said, it says it's a gift. And I said, so do you believe that? And she said, well, I was always taught Growing up in Catholic church and Catholic schools, I was always taught that it's something you have to earn. And I said, well, if you earn it, is it a gift? And she said, no. And I said, what does the Bible say? It says it's a gift. And I said, well, were you taught that the Bible is true? Yes. Is that your Bible? Yes. Well, does it say that you earn it? or that it's a gift. Says it's a gift. And I said, okay, are you going to believe what it says? Her husband spoke up and said, I want to receive the gift. And I said, great, Linda. And she said, I do too. And so both of them prayed and trusted Christ as their savior. The one who alone can save. You and I can't save ourselves. We can't save somebody else. But Jesus came to save sinners. And so those two dear young adults asked Jesus to save them. And you know what? He did. How do we know that? Well, because they just felt different. No. It's not about how you feel. Jesus promised that if we call on the name of the Lord, we'll be saved. If we cry out to Him to have mercy on us, to save us, He saves us. We're not saved by saying the right words, praying the right prayer, raising our hand, walking down an aisle, getting dunked in the water, or a little bit sprinkled on our heads. We are not saved by what we do. We are saved by Jesus. And folks, I want you to understand, that is at the heart of the Reformation. Those who really embraced the authority of the Scriptures began to see very clearly that salvation is a gift from God. It is not something we earn. It is something God graciously bestows. We receive it by faith and that faith will be evidenced by good works. There's no such thing as real faith in God that doesn't change the way you live. If it doesn't change the way you live, you're not really trusting Him. You've not received eternal life. But if you trust in Him, you will start doing the things that God desires. Your life will be changed. But this is not about just checking off a series of boxes that, yes, I believe these things now. Please understand this. The devil knows that the Gospel is true. The devil knows that the miracles happened. The devil knows that God created the heavens and the earth. The devil knows that Jesus is God incarnate. The devil knows that he was born of a virgin. that He died on the cross, that He rose from the dead, and that He's coming again. The devil knows all that stuff. So just believing intellectually that this is true, this is true, this is true, this is true, that's not salvation. The word for faith has to do with trust. It's a relational thing. It's putting your confidence in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. That's the change that God brings about when He takes away the heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. So if you believe in Jesus intellectually, but you don't trust Him, you're not saved. But if you trust Jesus, if you're depending on Him, if you know you have no other hope, Let me tell you, humanly speaking, and here I'm going back to what the Apostle Paul says about himself, humanly speaking, I'm willing to compare my righteousness with yours. Paul says, you know, I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. As for the law, blame us. He also called himself the chief of sinners because he knew before God, his righteousness was his filthy rags. And he says in the passage where he's describing himself, he says, I consider all that loss. But please understand this. If you're counting on what you've done or not done, your performance to make you acceptable to God, you're still lost. You're still lost. But if you come to the point where you realize, woe is me. I have sinned. I desperately need a Savior. Trust in Jesus. Count on Him. He will not fail you. And you know what'll happen if you really trust in Him? As your life changes, you're gonna receive all kinds of opposition and criticism Well, that wasn't what I thought you were going to say. I thought you were going to say, life will be much happier. I'll feel better. I'll wake up in the morning and I'll say, oh, it's good to be alive. Nope. You may wake up in prison. You may wake up finding that you've been beaten because those who trust in Jesus and do what he says are guaranteed to have problems. Paul, after he was converted from Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3, but you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Did you hear that? That's in the Bible. I didn't make that up. 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, in fact, in fact, All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. How many? All. All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, maybe, will be. Will be persecuted. Well, Pastor Wood, that makes me a little uncomfortable because I don't feel like I've ever really been persecuted. Well, your life isn't over yet. Okay? I believe the primary reason why we don't see more persecution in this country is because, for the most part, those who claim to be Christian back down any time it starts to get really tough. You want to see what persecution looks like? Look at what happened during the Civil Rights Movement. When people stood for truth and for justice, they were horribly persecuted, including by many who called themselves Christians. Think about what has happened in this country with the pro-life movement. I still have nerve damage from what really was police brutality, total violation of civil rights in Atlanta, Georgia. And the guy who kicked one of my colleagues in the head and seriously injured him was a Baptist deacon and a major in the Atlanta police force. One of the little ladies in our church, who was about this tall, had both her hearing aids popped out because the police officer, another police officer, dug his fingernails into the sides of her neck in order to pick her up and drag her down the sidewalk. A priest was ended up with a horrible cerebral hemorrhage, that means bleeding on the brain, after his jaw was broken because he was picked up by a police officer and thrown, with his hands cuffed behind his back, thrown headfirst into a metal-floored police truck, a paddy wagon. Okay? And how did the media report this? Well, for the most part, they didn't. Because the pro-life cause is not particularly popular with the media in this country. 1970s, my life was threatened by a group of citizens in French Camp, Mississippi, who felt that I'd gone too far by preaching against racism. And so they swore that they would not eat until they had killed me. And the police chief quit his job so he wouldn't have to protect me. Okay? That was a one-man police force. He was the police chief. He had a cruiser. He had a gun. He had a badge. He turned in his gun and his badge and the keys to the cruiser. Now, thankfully, before those guys got to me, they got hungry. And they eventually started eating and cooling off. But when I was told, okay, it's safe to go back in town, and I went back in town, one of those guys approached me in the middle of the main street with a butcher knife, I mean unsheathed blade, holding the handle like this, the blade was about that long. And he comes walking toward me like this with that knife. And I thought, well, this may be it. They said it was safe to go to town. Oh, and by the way, when I went into town, you know who I was buying my groceries from? The police chief. He also ran the little store there in town. Now, why am I telling you this? Because I want you to understand, folks, it's very easy to just say, I'm not going to get involved. I'm not going to say things that would be offensive. I'm not going to do things that could get me in trouble. Well, that's not wanting to live a godly life. This doesn't say if you're born again, you will suffer persecution. It says if you want to live a godly life, and if you're born again, you ought to want to live a godly life. Is that clear? If you're not willing to suffer for the gospel, it raises real questions as to whether or not you really know Him. So do I need to go out and do something in order to try and get in trouble? No, you just need to live for Jesus. And if you do, sooner or later, there will come a moment when in order to keep doing what He says, you're going to pay a price. And when that moment comes, understand you are standing not just with generations of believers who have suffered for their faith as part of this great movement of reformation that God is doing, but you will be standing with Jesus Himself, who willingly laid down His life for you and for me. He did that because He loves you. And whatever suffering you go through in this life, it is temporary. It is temporary. This life is short. I know you can't imagine that right now. Boy, I think this devotions is long. But let me tell you something. Life is short. And I want to reach the end of the race and have the Lord say to me, well done, good and faithful servant. But God says in His Word, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. That's what God says. So when it starts to get costly, when it starts to get difficult, remember that the Reformation involved Thousands of people who were willing to do the right thing and stand for the truth. And because of the price they've paid, it's possible for us to have the Bible in our own language today and study and see for ourselves, is that what God says? What does God want me to do? How can I honor Him with my life? The Reformation is still the work of God today. And it's happening still all over the world. And we have brothers and sisters right now who are paying a high price. The president of Nepal has just banned all evangelism in his country. What do you think believers in Nepal will do? Well, we can't tell people about Jesus anymore. You think that's what'll happen? Or do you think our Nepalese brothers and sisters will continue to share the gospel with their neighbors, even if it costs them their life? God is still working. He didn't stop 500 years ago. 500 years ago was a pivotal point in history. But God is still bringing the truth to change lives today. And I want you to be a part of it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for loving us. We thank you for sending Jesus to save us. And we ask now that you would help us to be faithful to your call. We pray that you would deliver us from evil and that you would give us courage to live the truth. And we'll give you the praise in Jesus' name. Amen.