Endure Hard Times

Theme: Despite various kinds of chaos in the world, true followers of Christ will persevere by His grace. Jesus describes in vv. 10-17 that there will be civil, natural, and religious unrest. In application, we need to recognize the corruption of people, creation, and be prepared for persecution. Jesus instructs his disciples to see persecution as an opportunity to bear witness for Him and tells them to trust God to be their mouthpiece and to be prepared for betrayal and death. In vv. 18-19, Jesus gives the source of Christian calm and endurance. We need to look at the comfort of the Shepherd and persevere. God is the one Who holds our faith so we can rest in His promised perseverance. We are called to count the cost before following Christ for a reason. But if we see that to follow Christ, Who is our treasure, is the greatest thing we can do, then to be hated and persecuted for Christ is to be expected and is worth it. We need to not ask ourselves what will cause people to love us. We need to ask the question, what do we need to do to honor our Lord? And when we follow Him, we know it will be hard. But if we are His, we are in His hand, and no one can pluck us out of it!