welcome to this episode of real Christianity my name is Dale Partridge reach week I offer 15 to 20-minute answers to tough theological and pastoral question this is 100% listener support audio Ministry of relearn. Org and for those who don't know our mission a tree learn.org is to educate and equip ordinary Christians to plant biblical confessional and missional house churches for more information just visit relearn. Org forward slash house
 walking the real Christianity on your host Dale Partridge as many of you know you can find the show notes for these episodes on our Ministries website a tree learn.org if you're new here welcome for the past few years we've been doing this show and for the past year I've been answering pastoral questions each week from our audience but in the coming weeks we're going to be shifting to a new format that'll primarily a helpless centers learn how to study their own Bible with accuracy at each week we're going to be looking at a particular verse for going to analyze it observe it interpret and apply it and yes we're going to hit all types of passages dealing with the heart issues that confront Our Lives each day at the end of the day I don't want thousands of Christians dependent upon my ability to Faithfully interpret the scriptures what I really want and whatever
 Pastor should want is thousands upon thousands of Christians who know how to Faithfully interpret the scriptures on their own we don't need to become the Legends and understand hermeneutics and exegesis an original language to be faithful interpreters and we're going to learn how that process looks looking at verse by verse Exposition what does that really mean and so in a few weeks we're going to move into our new format but for now we're going to continue on answering it your pastoral questions quick prayer request I should say before we get started we just have 13 more men enroll in our house Church training program at Reformation Seminary this is in addition to our already fifteen students who are being trained and prepared to plant biblical house churches around the world we have men who are planting and Costa Rica Denmark Canada and 14 different states
 in the US and these are faithful men who are prepared and qualified according to scripture to go and Pastor in plant churches and we would love your prayers for them over their families over their mission and that we would have more men step up who are ready to plant these biblical House Church in a thing on Reformation Seminary we we do need your support many of you guys are actually donors to relearn. Org but I'd love to ask you to consider
 putting some of your Christian getting toward our efforts at Reformation Seminary as the persecution grows here in the west and it's a slow growing process is working to hear today the need for biblical trained House Church Planters is increasing and it is increasing fast our team is tight at Reformation Seminary and if you'd like to support our church planting efforts we just actually officially received our 501 c 3 nonprofit status for reformation Seminary so we can now take those tax deductible donations and you can do it a variety of ways you can support students tuition so men can enroll there's been several men who want to enroll and just can't afford it we try to do a half-off process for those men who meet certain qualifications but it would be great to be able to underwrite
 are some tuition for some students who just can't afford it but are qualified and ready to go you can also support specific pastors who are about to plant because going off in plenty to church for several months there going to be a lot of Labor and no giving likely in return and so supporting those pastures is a great way to support you can also just support our efforts as a school as a training program as a missionary nonprofit and our staff and what we're doing so we do need your support to continue this important Kingdom work or donate page is actually still being developed right now so if you want to at this point just email me at Dale at reformation cemetery.com and I can get you connected to our donor manager but thank you for just praying over that and at the very minimum just continue praying for us in our efforts there these are exciting times to be alive
 for the church and we are preparing these men for the new next generation of House Church in the west so ask for today I want to answer the question that came in from Nicola and she lives in Calgary in Alberta Canada which there is a lot going on there and she asked quote several pastors have been arrested here in Canada for hosting. Services is this persecution or is this just Public Safety the truth is we can still freely worship here we just have to do it over the internet
 all right who's a pretty common question a lot of people are answering this question I've seen on Twitter and having you know heated discussions about it I actually put a post out on our Instagram account at relearn. Org you can follow us there to follow these things but I put a post out that actually was shared by hundreds of people shared it on stories but you know almost 12,000 people or so had actually seen the post and so I just wanted to continue it over here because I think it was important in and struck a chord with many people
 it was a question that I answered similarly to the one that Nicola asks and I wrote and I'll kind of mad lib is I'm going here but unfortunately there are many people who are ignorant of church history and history of Christian persecution and Nicola you know might you might not have a history of understanding Christian persecution you might not have studied the church history not many people have so this is something that is very new to the western church has been a lot of time studying Church History of the United States is a relatively in United Realty lease new nations in comparison to when you go over to Europe where you have history all around you but unfortunately we just are ignorant as a society of church history and Christian persecution for Zeb saying China you can quote worship freely as well if I freely you mean that you can worship according to the government's regulations on Christian churches
 stay in China Christianity is a public health issue just like covid is right to a public health issue to China right now the Chinese Communist party doesn't want Christians polluting the mental state of others and then placing the lordship of Jesus Christ above their commitment to their Chinese government now in Canada it's kind of the same story with a Different Twist they don't want Christians polluting the physical state of others and placing their commitment to Jesus Christ above the Canadian government now until we realize that government-sanctioned Christian persecution or just government-sanctioned religious persecution is a slow incremental process it's like boiling a lobster that live at first it's like oh this is warm okay okay to get a little bit hot you know and then all of a sudden you're dead and being cooked right until we realize that Chris
 persecution by the government it's always a slow historically it's always a slow incremental process we're going to fail to see the forest for the trees when a government demands loyalty to itself above its citizens loyalty to their God that's when you have the central ingredient of State impose religious persecution and that's what we're seeing in Canada that's what we're seeing in many parts of Europe that's what we're seeing in China that's what we're seeing in the Middle East in this is only the beginning and and I do admit it can be difficult to see if you don't understand history you don't understand how these things these slow fade happen it's very difficult to see the early signs it's very easy to see it once it's right upon us
 but in the coming months to years I really do think that it's going to become much more apparent to these countries including here in the United States my good friend costi Hinn at a tweet I want to read it because it sounded very much in alignment with what I was saying and we had not read each other's post a prior to write it as he wrote quote pray for the Canadian pastors above the border and pray for those who don't yet realize that this is how it starts the stage is set for eventual imprisonment for views on marriage sexuality and Christian teaching deemed quote criminal quote hate speech and quote dehumanizing
 so I think really what costi understands is that today it's a health order but tomorrow it might be a mental health order or a child safety order in other words it's a government ever gains power to a point where people have to disobey scripture or their personal convictions in order to obey the government you have government-sanctioned persecution take me to the government can tell you to not gather together for church or at a church and to not live in community bearing one another's burdens and not living that interdependent lifestyle that we see committed in the scriptures then what happens is it the government becomes the lord of the Christians and not Jesus see if the government can tell you how to raise your children how to look at biblical issues like gender or how to view sexuality or how to care for your body or which vaccines you should or should not take
 then then ultimately again the government becomes Lord of those Christians and not Jesus and so Christians are to be loyal to Christ Alone according to you guessed it scripture alone and soon the Bible is going to be viewed as hate speech it already is in so many different political and cultural instances I mean that at some point people are going to realize that the idea of traditional marriage isn't a conservative value it's a Biblical value they're going to figure out that at some point the the traditional view of gender isn't a conservative or republican issue it is a Biblical issue and once they realize that we're going to see the Bible viewed as hate speech
 and soon the Christians are going to be viewed as universal universally as bigots and soon you're either going to have to compromise or be penalized and it's a slow fade and we are seeing that we're also seeing that I did an episode several episodes back on the equality act that could change many things in the United States it would turn that Boiling Pot for the lobster from low to medium heat and so we got to remember history proves it over and over again it begins with frustration cultural frustration with Christians and then moves to harassment of Christians it shifts then to imprisonment and assaults of Christians and then ultimately ends in murder in martyrdom of Christians that's just how it happens and I need to talk to you guys about the scriptures because this should not Shock anyone of us
 2nd Timothy 3:12 says indeed all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted John 3:13 says do not be surprised that the world hates you
 John 15:26 says remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you 1st Peter 4:12 through 13 beloved to not be surprised at the fiery trial that is weird fiery trial could mean several things but it's possible that it meant being burned alive or being burned at the stake or being burned on a crucifix lighting up The Gardens of the Roman Emperor but he says b w surprise the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you
 as though something strange were happening to you Jesus warned us about this this shouldn't this isn't strange that the culture hates us and is becoming increasingly more hostile toward Christian morals Christian values and biblical texts but it says continues on it says but rejoice insofar as you share Christ suffering that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed if you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of Glory of God rest upon you
 in China right now you can gather at a state-sanctioned Christian Church as long as they use government-approved Bibles and have the Chinese flag higher than the cross in fact actually you can actually see videos on YouTube of the Christian or the the Chinese Communist Party tearing down crosses all over China according to one video that I watched this morning / 244 crosses have been removed in just the last year and this is really the big difference between the US and every other country we have a separation of church and state with our religious freedom built into our Constitution and we're allowed to worship freely anytime and anywhere without fear the government imposing any restriction for now does this mean that the churches don't have to be compassionate and caring regarding how they got there during such a thing like a pandemic it does mean that we need to be all always behaving in a way that is
 ansible that is Godly that is righteous but it does mean that every person is free to worship based on their personal convictions without fear of the law and this is obviously been the topic of discussion around the world in the face of covid especially in Canada in recent weeks now unfortunately Canada's and have the same level of protection as we do in there to get their Charter of Rights and so this is becoming a more important issue to be discussing and it disgusting in our churches discussing in our homes discussing with our children I did a post on Instagram maybe about a week ago and I wrote parents talk to your children about Christian persecution don't hide it from them show them the pictures read them the stories use wisdom right way we have to tailor this to age appropriateness but prepare their hearts and Minds for the coming hostility that they are about to inherit
 I'm on that thread there's actually a handful of people that have released several good comments on on books and videos that you can watch that are good age appropriate resources you can find it on our Instagram account I'm going to close with two quotes one from James Montgomery boice one of my favorite all-time preachers and he says in the days of hardship particularly persecution those who are in the process of becoming Christians they're going to count the cost of discipleship carefully before taking up the cross of the Nazarene preachers do not beguile them with false promises of an easy life or an Indulgence of sins but in Good Times the cost does not seem so high and people take the name of Christ without undergoing the radical transformation of life that true conversion in Plies and other words we have lived for many years centuries actually here in the United States
 without much of a cost to follow Christ we had a water down fat lazy sleepy sluggish Christianity Costless Christianity for so long here in the west the people who have accepted Christ had a really counted the cost before they've done so potential even have it a false conversion when persecution the cost of following Christ is high people are very careful they're thinking am I really going to follow Christ if it means it ends at a cross
 and these are important conversations to say or to have to evaluate yourself am I actually a converted Christian does the Holy Spirit dwell in me did I actually come to Christ or did I just come to church am I ready to stand boldly in the face of a cost for my job in the face of a cost for my family in the face of imprisonment in the face of having to move to a different place whatever it maybe are you willing to stand and not compromise on scripture
 these are important questions to ask and we are approaching them quickly I will close with a last quote from Jerome who is the author of The Vulgate in the 300 so I think mid-to-late 302 says the Church of Christ has been founded by shedding its own blood not that of others but enduring outraged not by flipping it persecutions Have Made It Grow the martyrdoms have grounded
 I hope this was a helpful discussion an episode for you in your Christian walk and these are difficult times that we are approaching but they are purifying purify times for the church and many of us have actually been praying for a purification many persecuted countries have been praying for the United States and Canada to have some sense of persecution that will purify the church
 it's a lord is working the Lord of sovereign
 and we get to walk Faithfully in the midst of it
 so thank you for listening to this episode of your regular listener to this podcast we appreciate your loyalty we have had tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of listeners over the last few years we have over I think close to 5,000 reviews on our podcast and they really do help the exposure of our show if you have not left a review I would you consider leaving what you don't even need to write anything you just need to tap the Stars on your podcast app however if you do write something I will read it I read them every day they are so encouraging and just sharing our store are your story about how our ministry of this podcast has edified you or changed your walk with Jesus we would love to hear that
 on that note. Thank you guys for joining us in this episode my name is Dale Partridge and I will see you next week
thank you for listening to this episode of real Christianity if your regular listener to the show would you prepare fully consider making a donation to support our ministry efforts simply visit relearn. Org forward slash donate again that's relearn. Org forward slash donate and for those looking to explore the idea of joining or planting a church in your home you can download our free pdf ebook title the basics of biblical House Church by visiting relearn. Org forward slash house last week do you have a theological question you would like answered on the show submit your question at relearn. Org forward slash question thanks for joining us on this episode of real Christianity we will see you next Wednesday