Bold for Christ 2

 Losing your job. 

We read things like this.

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:12-13

We read things like this. Yeshua, or Jesus, said this

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 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. If they keep my word, they will also keep yours.” John 15:18-20

In His famous “Sermon on the Mount,” He told us this.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12

"Rejoice and be glad?" "Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ WILL be persecuted." The World WILL hate you and you WILL be persecuted. This is the Word. This is a warning of things to come. This will happen and I, God, am warning you that it is coming so you are not caught off guard. So that you are not surprised.

Peter warned us of this too.

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3:14-17

One of the biggest risks and fears people all have is losing their jobs. There are people where you work that are lost, that are going to hell, that need a Savior. You are a child of God. You have the keys to the Kingdom and Hell, death, and the grave. Your Father, God, gave them to His Son, and He gave them to you. All you have to do is tell people about Yeshua, or Jesus, and His sacrifice for them and the fact all they have to do is believe in Him and they too can be saved.

Their response? “I cannot do that. My boss is not a believer, and we are not allowed to talk about religion or politics. I could, {say it with me} lose my job.”

Now I know we are going to cover some of the things we have talked about many times, but this is a reality that you, as a child of God, really need to learn and take for yourself and know, this is a fact told to you by Yeshua Himself. If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew 6, starting at verse 25

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than them?”

You need to get this child of God. He is talking directly to you.

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

God does this. Not man. Not “Mother Nature.” God.

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

If everyone needs these things, God knows you need them, then how do you guarantee you will get them? How can you guarantee that your daily needs will be met?

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25-33

This is a fact. It is not your job that sustains and blesses you. I will say that again because someone needs to hear it. It is not your job that sustains and blesses you. Even though some people look at their j.o.b. as their g.o.d. It is not. In the “Our Father Prayer” Jesus even included this aspect of God’s love to us. 

“Give us this day our daily bread,” Matthew 6:11

Is your job in charge of your needs? The company or organization you are working for is at the mercy of profit. If they do not make money, they can not afford to pay you. Due to economic situations, you may go to work on Monday, and find you no longer have a job. They need to find ways to keep the company going, and if that means cutting you, you will be cut. Now, do they do this for a personal reason? No. It just happens. You were costing the company or organization more than they could afford to pay you. I understand it is hard not to take it personally. But for the most part? It isn't.

Here you are, driving home, fearful of the future. I know some that go to work every day, fearful that it is their last. Is there anything you could have done to stop the loss of your job? Probably not. Is there anything you can do driving home, to change the fact you lost your job? Nope. So why worry about it?

You have an unfair advantage. You really do. Remember, you are a child of God. Remember, God promised you that your needs will be met. The God of gods, the King of Kings, the Creator of all that is, was, or ever will be, is your Daddy. Do you think He will not meet your needs?

Think of a rich man. Would he not give all he has to his son or daughter if they became in need? Of course. God is far richer than the richest man. So you do not have to fear the loss of a job. As a side note. You also do not need to kill yourself trying to make that next dollar.

Our Lord tells us.

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice on that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23

“Leap for joy.” “Rejoice.” I love that. "Sorry, Pete, you are fired.” No. I’m not going to try to leap here. But I will rejoice. {laughing} My leaping days may be over. But it took me a long time to get this. I’m going to tell you a story that is going to be hard for you to understand. May even be hard for some to accept. However, you can research it yourself and find it true.

One of my first jobs was working in Mall Security. I started overnight. In the first few months, I became a sergeant. Things were going along just fine for the first 3 years. Then a new Mall Manager took over. He was not such a nice guy. He used and abused not only his staff but some of the tenants of the mall as well. He also used the mall as a personal storage area for his things. Now this was right in the middle of me discovering salvation and receiving a deeper understanding of the Word and God's Way.

Now, Dwight, and I, one of the instrumental people in getting me into my quest for Truth, decided to go to this man and ask him if he knew Christ. His exact answer was "I don't have time for that nonsense." Then he stole my file from the files, and asked my boss, Dwight, for it. Needless to say, it was not there. So I got blamed for stealing my file. Turns out, he had it the whole time and then fired me. He also fired Dwight and a few others. I, to my surprise, remembered this Passage

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:

for it is written,

I will repay, saith the Lord."

I forgave him. A few months later, I heard that he was in the center of the mall when the owners came in and fired him. Right there in the center of the mall, in front of so many people, he was abusive over the years he was there. He received the same treatment that he dished out. I hear he did not handle it well.

There was nothing I could have done to him, to equal what happened to him. Nothing. However, God did not stop there. If you go to the Newburgh Mall in Newburgh NY, you will find a shell. It no longer exists.

This was the first time, not the last, I have seen, firsthand, entire places disappear. A child of God wronged, and not soon after, the entire business was gone. You can do nothing in comparison to what God can do. Why stress out over it? Forgive them, and allow God to take it from there.

I worked as a manager for a major hotel brand. One in Newburgh and one in Stuart Florida. Both Holiday Inns. I built two award-winning teams in both and everything was going along just fine. However, my mentor in Newburgh was an alcoholic and abusive. He caused me employees and a lot of problems but I was also learning the trade and I toughed it out for seven years. Then due to personal matters, I ended up moving to Florida. I forgave him and continued my career in the Holiday Inn of Stuart. I worked there for three and a half years. I was fired based on a lie, and false allegations. Sound familiar? I forgave them. Skip ahead to today? The drunken mentor? Dead. The Holiday Inn in Newburgh and Stuart Florida? Yeah, they no longer exist.

Am I someone special? YES! I am a child of God! If you are, you are special too. The most powerful words you can possibly say to someone who wrongs you? “I forgive you.” The hard part is meaning it. "I forgive you." Why? Because you take them out of your hand, and you give them to God.

So what happened each time I got fired? I got a better job than I ever had before. God blessed me richly. I never had a fear or a lack of food. The bills were paid. Nothing happened to me. I do not even believe I had even a week off of work before I started a new Job.

Paul says this in Philippians

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, so that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8

Remember, Jesus called the rich man building barns a fool. Why? That very day, his soul was required. In other words, he was dying that day. Then whose stuff does all that become? You come into the world naked and you go out the same way. You do not take it with you. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So why worry about it?

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:11

Be bold for Christ. What would happen if you lost your job? “Leap for joy.” “Rejoice.” Blessed are you. Forgive those you ought to and allow God to take care of it. There is nothing you can do that is worthy to be compared to what God can and will do.

Are you a child of God? If you have not already done so, and if you truly want to have Yeshua come into your life and set you free from Hell, death, and the grave, having the ability to be bold, then say this prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be, say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Yeshua's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!"

That's it. It is that simple. Now tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and the peace of our Lord Yeshua, be with you all. May God bless and be with you, always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!