Our scripture reading this morning is 1 Peter 4. 1 Peter 4. Peter wrote this to the dispersed people of the Jews who were probably dispersed because they were persecuted. So he has much to say to persecuted saints. 1 Peter 4, for as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banqueteens, and abominable idolatries. wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. You shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand, Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging, as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. The time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin with us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator. So far we read God's holy word. The text for the sermon is Hebrews 13, verse 3. Hebrews 13, verse 3. In this list of exhortations, first for brotherly love, then be not forgetful to entertain strangers. Now the third one in verse three, remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body. Beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you had a brother that traveled to a far country and was arrested there and convicted of a trumped up crime and put into prison and wrote you of the conditions of the prison, that he slept on a concrete floor without a blanket that there were rats scurrying around the floor, that the food was scarce, and that it was often rotten, and they could go days without eating, that the guards were cruel beyond description, beating them, kicking them, sometimes leaving them out in the rain. How well would you sleep at night? If you had a sister that was arrested and put in prison and wrote of the horrible conditions and the cruel treatment at the hands of the guards of being regularly beaten, despitefully used, and tormented, How might that affect the mood at a family reunion? How might that affect the joy and laughter at a dinner where the table is loaded with food and drink? And how would that affect the content of your prayers and even How would it affect the way you look at life and all of the possessions that you have? People of God, we have brothers and sisters in prison. Exactly in those kinds of conditions and worse. They are our spiritual brothers and sisters. They are what are described in the text as those who are in bonds and those who suffer adversity. Hebrews 11 set before us the sufferings of the Old Testament saints, who because they were the people of God, they were horribly treated. The New Testament history records more persecution, starting with Jesus himself, Stephan, the first martyr, Herod taking James and beheading him, the church then being scattered from Jerusalem by the persecution that was spearheaded by Saul, later the apostle Paul, Paul and Barnabas in prison, Paul and Silas put in prison, and all the subsequent history of the church has been a record of God's people persecuted. And that is happening yet today. The text exhorts us to remember those who are in bonds. Remember them. This is an exhortation based squarely on the theme of this book. Jesus, the better mediator is a merciful high priest, a merciful high priest. His heart goes out to those who are suffering and his earnest desire is to lift them up out of their suffering and to bless them. We are the followers of Jesus Christ. He is our example as the merciful high priest. We also have the office of priest and are to imitate him. We are also brought into that better covenant, a covenant established with believers and their seed and their generations, including those who are in bonds and suffering affliction. Beloved, perhaps as never before in the history of the church has the exhortation of this text been more necessary than it is for us to hear it today. In our prosperity, in our ease, in our comfortable living, We can scarcely imagine Christians being imprisoned and persecuted. We can hardly imagine it, let alone to remember them, to keep them in our minds. But that's what the word of God comes to us today to exhort us. So let's see what the Spirit has in mind for us, Christians living in the 21st century in prosperous America. We take as the theme then of the sermon, called to remember our fellow saints in bonds. Notice in the first place, the reality of persecution. Secondly, the call to remember. And thirdly, The purpose of remembering, I struggled with that. Maybe I wanted to call it the blessing in remembering. Certainly they are both connected, God's purpose and the blessing in remembering. So let's examine, first of all, the reality of persecution. Who are these people that are in bonds? They are obviously Christians who are imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. The word bond is translated ordinarily as either as prison or prisoner as Barabbas was a prisoner released by Pilate. Paul and Silas. were imprisoned, and they prayed and sang praises to God in the dungeon, and the prisoners, those who were in bonds, heard them. Paul frequently called himself the prisoner of the Lord, the one in bonds, or the prisoner of Jesus Christ. So these people are believers. They've been given faith in Jesus Christ. They believe and confess that he is the son of God, that he is very God, that he is very man. that he came to die for their sins and that he accomplished it. He made the payment for their sin. He arose again and he ascended into heaven and he sits at God's right hand and he's coming again. That's their confession. They believe all that by faith, but that's their experience because they've been delivered from the bondage of sin and death. They have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ. They have the life of Christ in them. In thankfulness, they offer themselves a sacrifice of joy to God, and they confess that faith. For some, it's very close to your belief, the Reformed faith, sovereign grace, the unconditional covenant. For many others, it's not nearly as precise, Not as much knowledge. Some of the things that they would say, we would say, no, I don't really agree with that. But for all that, they are absolutely convinced of this one thing. Jesus alone is their savior. He is their only hope. And these are in bonds. They are in prison. The Bible of course, gives many examples of those who were in bonds. for the sake of the gospel. The Sanhedrin arrested Peter and John after they healed the lame man. They later took them out of the cell and beat them before they released them. Saul went from city to city binding Christians and bringing them to Jerusalem for trial and execution. Paul himself as an apostle speaks of many imprisonments, and we know of four that he was imprisoned in Jerusalem, Philippi, Caesarea, and Rome, and there are others that we're not even told about. In this chapter of Hebrews, we read that Timothy was set at liberty, so he must have been imprisoned. The inspired writer to the Hebrews in chapter 10 says that he was in bonds at one point in his life, And the apostle John was banished to the island of Patmos because of the testimony of Jesus Christ. And they were afflicted. The word afflicted in the text is translated, it's only used twice in the whole New Testament, but it's translated in chapter 11, verse 37, tormented. And let me read that verse. to describe what they had. We'll start with verse 36. They had trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. That's not the same word, but they were stoned. They were sawn asunder. They were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. That's the word used in the text, suffered affliction. They were tormented. All of the things described there describe what the text is talking about. Torment, deprivation, starvation, loss of all possessions, being tortured, tried, and put to death. Why? and by whom? It is because they're believers, and it's by wicked men who hate God and hate His Son, Jesus. That's evident from the way they treated Jesus when He was on the earth. They reproached Him They tempted Him. They tried to catch Him in His words. Ultimately, they condemned Him, spit upon Him, beat them with their fists, whipped Him cruelly, and crucified Him. And why did they do all of that to Jesus? Because He was God's Son. That's why. They hated Him. as God's son. And Jesus promised that that same hatred will come upon us. In John, chapter 15, verses 18 and following, Jesus said, if the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own. But because you are not of the world, But I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember this word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also. And again, in Matthew chapter 10, Matthew chapter 10, we read in verse 21 and 22, The brother shall deliver the brother to death, the father the child, and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. Hated of all men for my name's sake. And so it has continued exactly as Jesus said all through the history of this world, because Jesus said, I will build my church. I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So two things there, the church will be there till the day that Jesus comes on the clouds of heaven, the church will be in the earth. And the gates of hell will be furiously attacking the church, seeking to destroy it until that day. It will not end. That it's the gates of hell indicate that there's something behind the hatred of men that are attacking the church. And that, of course, is Satan. It is his hatred of God and his determination to rule all God's creation. He is determined that all men will worship him and not God, just as the Roman Caesars insisted that the Christians offer their sacrifice to them, worship them as God. That's Satan's goal, that he be worshiped by all men. And if anyone will not worship Satan, he or she will be put to death. Yet the question remains, doesn't it? Why does the sovereign God of heaven and earth have this in his counsel? Why does Christ sitting upon the throne execute a council that includes imprisonment and torture and death for his beloved people for whom he gave his life? Why is that part of God's plan? And the answer, obviously, first is that everything in that plan glorifies God. Somehow it does and it will as the power of God in that people become evident. But it's also good for the people. Everything works for the good of his people. That's that's part of that perfect plan of God. So how is persecution good for the church? It's good for the church, first of all, because it separates the ungodly hypocrite from the midst of the church. According to Jesus' parable, the chaff will all through history grow up right next to the wheat, and they will be found in the church as well as it exists on this earth. Unbelievers who attend church but only pretending to be Christians. Perhaps they attend for social reasons. Perhaps it gives them an economic advantage to be a Christian. Maybe it's due to family connections, but they do not believe in Jesus. But when persecution comes, all those advantages seem pale to them. and they forsake the church and in fact turn against it. So the church is purified through persecution. But not merely the body as unbelievers leave, but the members themselves are purified because persecution is a kind of discipline that God is exercising upon his beloved children. The people of God can become very comfortable in this world. The world of whom John warns us in his first epistle, love, not the things of the world, love, not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him. And then he adds for all that is in the world, The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. So if you love these things, you do not love the Father. Those two things are opposites. But the church and her flesh so easily does love the things of this world and becomes very comfortable in this world. And it's possible in times of peace that we can go to church and instruct our children and teach them the Bible, but it's not a matter of great conviction. It's not a matter of the heart so much. And the result is that the church becomes very worldly. The prophecies of Isaiah and Micah and others, we're studying Micah in the adult Bible, and you read that and you think, can this really be how bad the church can become? And the answer is absolutely it is. Isaiah said, if God had not preserved a remnant in Judah, she would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. So God sends persecution to discipline His church, to drive them away from the world and its pleasures, and yes, its comforts, and to draw them to God, draw them to His truth, draw them to see that their treasures are heavenly treasures, not the earthly. Persecution purifies the church, not merely as a body, but the members are purified by that. And so the church is strengthened as the church recognizes that her only hope is in Jesus and clings to Him and to His strength and their cries cry out to Him that He will preserve them. And now the amusements of this world and the lifestyle of this world now seen in a proper light no longer are attractive. They're repulsive. They're rejected. And persecution is something we must expect. The seed of the woman is set over against the seed of the serpent. And the seed of the serpent ever tries to destroy the seed of the woman. Cain killing Abel. Pharaoh afflicting Israel. The Philistines attacking Israel. And all through the ages, the Roman Caesars with their widespread persecution of the Christian. And at the Reformation, Rome's dreadful massacres of untold numbers of believers. Jesus promised this. One of the signs of the coming of Jesus One of the main signs is that all through the dispensation from the time of his ascension to the time of his return, all through that, the church would suffer tribulation. Yes, there is coming a great tribulation, but all through the dispensation, tribulation is a sign of his coming. This is, therefore, inevitable. That's why Peter says in the chapter that we read, verse 12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. The fiery trial is persecution. And he said, when persecution comes, don't be surprised. Don't think, this is unusual. Why is this happening? Don't think that way. Rejoice, he says, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye shall be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. And on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator. This is what you should expect. This is not strange. This is not unusual. Persecution is the norm for God's people. And so it continues to the present day. God's people are imprisoned. In communist countries, there is no religion allowed but communism. And so churches are severely restricted or closed by the communist governments. Concentration camps are set up where Christians are put and where they die. Many Muslim lands, no religion other than Islam is allowed. Those who convert to Christianity will die. If not by the officials, by their own family, they will be killed. There are countries where Christian churches and schools are burned. Children are taken off as slaves by their oppressors. There are areas where Hindus not only put restrictions on churches, but burn them down and burn houses with Christians in them. People die. This persecution is real. There are Christians imprisoned and being taken into prison continually in this world. We need to learn more about this. Go online, go look, Voice of the Martyrs, or just type in persecuted Christians, and there'll be different websites that will document what we're saying here this morning. This is real. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are in bonds, who are suffering affliction because of their faith in Jesus Christ. The call comes to us then, remember. That's what we consider secondly. What does it mean to remember? Well, it means you do not forget them. You do not ignore them. You call it to mind. You have it in front of your mind. You bring it back to remembrance. But surely it's not a matter of merely acknowledging a fact and having the statistics there about what's happening in this country or that country, but remembering them must immediately trigger compassion, compassion, a suffering with those who are in bonds. not to be cold and uncaring about those who are bound and afflicted. When we have earthly afflictions, when we're in the hospital, when we have troubles, when we have sorrows, one of the most beautiful comforts is that we have a merciful high priest who cares. He's not cold. He's not indifferent. He's not ignoring us. He cares. And that's what the apostle is saying should be our attitude, too, toward those who are in prison, that we care. And that's why he says, as bound with them, as though you yourself are enduring some of that affliction that they are enduring, as though you are in chains or in that prison cell. Put yourself there on that cold prison floor in the pain, the loneliness, and the hardship that they are enduring. Put yourself there. That's how you suffer with someone. You can feel some of their pain. and as being yourselves also in the body. What does that mean? That's kind of a hard expression there, as being yourselves also in the body. It could have two quite different meanings, but I think they can both be taken here, first of all, as both as being part of the body of Jesus Christ, where Christ is the head and every member of the body is united to him by faith and united to each other, therefore, by the bond of love. And we're one body, and when one member of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with him. So that surely would be a part of the meaning here. But it can also have the idea of remembering that their body is just like yours. When you're starving, you know it. When you're cut, you feel it. When you're burned, you know it. They have the same body, they're suffering. So remember them as you are in the same body that they are in, suffering. They reinforce the need for a merciful attitude, for compassion to those who are in bonds. To remember surely would also mean that we assist them if it's ever possible for us to do that. When persecution comes to our land and God's people are starting to get arrested, starting to be beaten, starting to be having their homes attacked, what should be our response? Ignore it. Don't let on that you know that Christian person. Go on with your life and hope nobody notices you. That's not what the Christian Hebrew Christians had done, according to chapter 10. They endured a great fight of afflictions, partly while she were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while he became companions of them that were so used. They were companions of them. He had compassion of me and my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods." They knew what this meant. He's calling them to remember that. He's calling them to continue in that, assist those who are in affliction, if at all possible. That's plain. That's what our calling is. Jesus, remember, said to those on the judgment day, to his people, you visited me in prison. You visited me. And they said, when did we do that? Well, when you did it to the least of my brethren, you visited me in prison. Paul laments the fact that in his second stand before Caesar, He had to do it alone. 2 Timothy 4, verse 9, he says to Timothy, do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed into Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus into Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. But then he said in verse 16, This is 2 Timothy 4. At my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. That was part of his suffering, that he had no one to stand with him. We sang of that in the last Psalter number. No man for my soul doth care. And so remember means, that we do and that we associate, and we're not afraid to visit those who are suffering. Why is this admonition necessary? Why would it be necessary to say to Christians, remember those who are in bonds? And maybe that a child of God fears the persecution and fears that if he gets too close to someone that then then he will be persecuted. So I'll just keep my distance. Maybe that there's shame there. Look at what the television cameras can do to make someone look absolutely horrid. Evil. and put the name and face over all of the networks and show what a horrible person this is. And now if they do that to your Christian friend, do you want to be associated with that person? Do you want to stand up for him or her? Paul warned Timothy not to be ashamed of him, Paul, the prisoner of the Lord. Paul is off as an accused criminal in the court, in the cells of Rome. And he says to Timothy, don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed of me. So fear of persecution, shame maybe of being associated with someone that everyone in the world is condemning as horrible as evil. Could it be that The believers do not care about the others. And now, of course, we're in chapter 13, which started out, let brotherly love continue, and then be not forgetful to entertain strangers. So love is what's characterized. Is it possible that love is the problem here, that there's a failure to love others, and that it's all about me? So long as I'm free, So long as I am comfortable, I will not bother myself with other people who are suffering affliction. He should have kept his mouth shut. He shouldn't have been so bold. So he forgets about them, ignores them, and goes on with his own life. This is not as it ought to be. we must be conscious of the reality of persecuted fellow believers. I urge you to do some reading. You can start with Fox's Book of Martyrs and start looking at what the church has endured through the ages. Visit the online sites, read, and then pray for the persecuted saints. And keep all these things in mind, beloved, when we are enjoying the comforts and the freedoms that we have. We have comfortable homes, comfortable schools, comfortable church buildings. We enjoy lovely vacations. We have excellent food and drink. We can have recreation and even entertainment. We have everything that we need and that in abundance. Think on those who do not have any of that because they are imprisoned for the sake of Jesus Christ. They have no freedom. They have none of the comforts that we take for granted, so much so that I fear we can even think we're entitled to all these things that we have Think on those who've been stripped of all of that. We're called to remember them. God has a purpose in telling us this, and he will very definitely make this a blessing as we consider our third point, our remembering. There is, first of all, a benefit for those who are persecuted. The prayers of other saints on behalf of those who are persecuted are for their benefit, the benefit of those who are persecuted, it is. Their way is grievous. We cannot imagine it, having your house burned down, but not yours only, but all of your family's houses and your friends, so that you have no place to live. and that you must wander about looking for shelter and for food. Children who are kept kidnapped and you know that they are slaves of cruel masters. Pastors who disappear and are never heard from again. Fathers who are arrested and languish in prison. Family members who live in concentration camps with unspeakable suffering. Pray for them. Pray for them. God hears your prayers on behalf of His persecuted saints, and He gives grace in answer to your prayers. That's His promise. Your prayers are not ineffectual. God gives grace in answer to your prayers. That's why you want to be as specific as you can, to know what you can, to be able to pray with meaning. That's what the church did when Peter was in prison. They even came together and prayed together for Peter, and they were not praying, Lord, release him, Lord, release him. They didn't expect that at all, because James had been taken by Herod and beheaded. They expected the same thing to happen with Peter. They were praying that God would give Peter grace to face his own execution. That wasn't God's will. He delivered Peter. Nonetheless, they were praying for him. And so we pray for those who are bound and those who are afflicted. If it'd be possible that God would deliver them from them, of course, that God would provide for them some of the necessities of life, food and clothes and shelter. Of course, we may certainly pray for that, but pray especially for God's grace that will hold them up under the horrible burden and the dreadful suffering, that the Spirit will keep them steadfast, that the Spirit will give them courage to stand and continue to confess their faith in Jesus, no matter how they suffer. That God will hold them in His hand and provide them with His all-sufficient grace. Pray for them. And if we have any opportunity, then we assist. When this kind of persecution comes to us in this world, that we run to the aid of those who have lost everything under the rage of this world, that we provide for them of our own as best as we can, that we visit them in prison if that is possible. This is required. This is required. This is not optional. James warns, rather John warns about that in his first epistle about people that say, O be ye warmed and filled and then leave them to their misery. We are not merely to commiserate with people who are in suffering, but if we have opportunity to assist that we do so. That's obvious in the word, remember, remember, help them as you can. So for the good of those who are persecuted, God tells us to remember, but it's also so, so good for us. How we need this reminder in our prosperity, in our comfortable lives. We have so few restrictions. Oh, we can't work Sunday. Join a labor union. We have our freedom. We have our schools protected by the law and the police. We have an abundance of food and clothing and the comforts of this life. And I fear we are far too comfortable. The internet went down in my house six hours this week, one day. Oh my, what a restriction. And sometimes the electricity goes off for a half a day and maybe a day, maybe a week without electricity. Oh, unbearable. We have suffering. God sends physical pain. God sends trials in our lives. I know that. But when you compare our life with those who are in lands where there is severe persecution, there is no comparison. There's no comparison. A minister who came from Namibia years ago to visit our churches said to me, it's very easy to be a Christian in America. It's very easy to be a Christian here. We do not know the suffering. It makes me afraid. It makes me afraid for me. It makes me afraid for you. That these things are, this is life. This is what life is about. It's fun. It's entertainment. It's food. It's comfort. But that's not normal. That's not normal. But we think it is. We think this is what the church deserves, a comfortable life. Remembering those who are bound and are afflicted with us puts a different perspective on life. It's not that God gives us all this stuff because he simply wants us to have a comfortable, happy life. This world is not a playground. for us to enjoy until finally we get tired and then we die and go to heaven. The Bible says this life is a walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This life is a place of conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. This is a place of battle, a place where the Christian should expect Tribulation. Expect tribulation. Therefore, the purpose of everything God has given us in this world is not that we may be so comfortable, but that we may press it into the service of the kingdom, the service of God. I cannot exhort you, pray for ministers. This is such a strange situation in our churches. We have an abundance of money. We have the freedom to send forth the gospel into all 50 states and to many places around the world. We have everything we need except ministers to send. Why the Lord is doing this to us, I do not know. but pray for ministers that we may use this abundance of material wealth to send out the gospel. That's why he gives it to his church. Remembering those in bonds will keep our lives in perspective and recognizing the purpose, the gospel. the church. That's the purpose. Remembering those in bondage will also prepare us by God's grace for the coming persecution. The scriptures are full of warnings. Second Timothy three 12. Oh, yay. Listen. Yay. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Philippians 1 29, it is graciously given unto you to suffer graciously given to suffer for his sake. And first Peter four, think it not strange. It's not strange. This is normal. Tribulation is normal. Persecution is necessary because it fills up the measure of the sufferings of the body of Jesus Christ. God has determined a certain amount of suffering for the body of Jesus Christ. And so pray that we have grace to endure patiently with steadfast faith as God's people have in the past, as God's people are now. And we will discover People of God, we will discover that we will persevere because God will preserve us. Reading the accounts of men who've been tortured and butchered in the past makes your soul just shrink. It makes you quake. It makes you think, how, Lord, how can I possibly stand in that? But they did. And notable, they didn't cave. They didn't say, I give it up. I'll renounce Jesus. Quit. Stop the torture and I'll stop. They didn't. They didn't do that because the grace of God was there sustaining him. And that's what we have to understand too. You can't look ahead and put yourself in that situation and say, how would I stand? No, you will stand, but not in your strength. In the power of God alone you will stand. That's what Paul found. He stood there alone. No man stood with him, he said, but the Lord was with me. He strengthened me. And he had confidence that the Lord would deliver him from every evil work unto his heavenly kingdom. He was absolutely certain of that. And that's Jesus' promise. He laid down His life for His sheep. He is not going to let even one of them ever be lost. No one can take them out of My Father's hand, He says. I will not lose even one. But it goes beyond that. It goes to blessedness, happiness, That's the word Jesus used in Matthew chapter 5. Blessed are, blessed are, happy are, blessed are ye they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say, all men are of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. were so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Beloved, remember our fellow saints in their bonds. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, Thou art a good God, always good, always good to Israel. Thy ways are past finding out. We receive from thy hands such an abundance that we cannot even use it all. And we know that there are those of thy saints today who suffer lack, great lack, who suffer great pain without medication, without any let up. with no one to assist them because they are thy people and they are hated. We pray for them. Turn our hearts to be compassionate toward them, to remember them, but also, Lord, prepare us. And in these days, set our hearts on the things that are heavenly. We pray this for Jesus' sake. Amen. We sing Psalm 124B, 124B. Had not the Lord been Israel's help when angry foes assailed, had not the Lord been on our side, our righteous cause, had failed. All the stanzas, 124B. ♪ Let us help their pain before those of sin. ♪ ♪ Let us adore them on high, our righteous God. ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, you. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, ♪ Blessed be the mighty one, crowned with glory evermore. ♪ He alone has won this town ♪ ♪ And he's in glory at the sound ♪ ♪ And blessed be his glorious name ♪ ♪ On earth peace shall endure ♪ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. ♪