I've got to stop having pity parties. You know what I mean by them. I was thinking about all I was going through and I had a real winner this past week. I mean, if I were to plan for it, it would have had decorations and party favors. I mean it was huge. Unlike real parties, thought, this was no fun. I was in really foul mood. Poor me. Poor, poor me.

But then I did what any good Minnesotan does. I thought, "It could be worse."

Actually, that's not what happened. That wouldn't have been enough to pull me out of it, but for the sake of the flow of the sermon, let's go with it. What actually did it, I will tell you later.

So, back to my Minnesotan reaction: I thought, "Well, it could be worse," and then I looked at the disciples. It was worse. Jesus is telling them people are going to try to kill them. And when they did kill them, they were going to think they were doing God a favor. That's bad.

Not too surprising, they had their pity parties. They were having one on the night Jesus rose from the dead. "Oh, poor us. The Jews are going to try to kill us and we have no leader anymore." They had another a week later. Poor us; poor, poor us.

But then things changed. The Holy Spirit came on the Pentecost. They began to understand what they were doing and what they were called to do. They realized persecution was part of their calling as apostles. And they actually were killed for confessing the faith. As you could tell, Christianity wasn't too popular back then. It was hard to be a Christian in the day of the Apostles.

It's not easy today either. In fact, when I was feeling sitting there, feeling sorry for myself, I realized that I was feeling sorry for the wrong person. What about you? You are the ones out there. You are the ones feeling the pressure of the world. I can retreat into the church and into the safety of like-minded people, but you can't nearly as easily. That has to be really tough.

You feel it all the time. And sometimes you may even give in to it. Jesus talked about how the world hated Christians, and that is what you are seeing today. You might think it doesn't really mind Christians, but if it was ever true, its hatred for Christians is becoming more obvious with each passing day. Christian values are being challenged more and more.

We heard about all these changes in President Fondow's Bible study last week. In fact, if I have copies if you should be interested. He pointed out to us that our society has become more godless over the last several decades. And then he gave us a laundry list.

a. Disrespect for authority grew throughout the 1960's and 1970's.
b. Sexual immorality grew throughout the 1960's and 1970's and continues to grow.
c. Sanctity of life has suffered throughout the last 30 years.
d. Substance abuse and gambling addictions has grown worse.
e. Respect for marriage and traditional families has deteriorated.

3. Our society has grown more amoral in the last few decades.

a. Truth is taught and accepted as being relative; absolute truth is rejected as intolerant.
b. Post modernism and amoral attitudes have replaced basic truths about God and morality.
c. Media continually promotes immoral lifestyle as normal, acceptable, desirable.

I've started to make visits on families to talk about how the faith education our kids get here will help them withstand this pressure, and it easy to see where the battle takes place. God says, marriage between one man and one woman, but they have been growing up hearing and seeing other arrangements. They have seen marriage treated as though it were elastic. Define it how you want, and don't feel bound by its expectations for the lifetime. If it's not working, give up, and try a different one. Try it out before you actually get married to test compatibility or just for sexual convenience. If you don't like people of the opposite sex, then hook up with someone of your own. This is what our kids are growing up seeing today, as though this were normal, and as though it were acceptable to God.

Long before they get to school, they have been learning about the theory of evolution. The problem is, it is not presented as merely a theory. Dinosaur movies show cartoon dinosaurs which they are expected to believe had lived millions of years ago. They come to church and they learn that God actually created the world in 6 literal, 24 hour days, and its no wonder they are confused.

Another challenge they face, not starting quite as young, is the idea that all religions are valid. A lot of people believe that all religions worship the same god; they just go by different names. The gods of the monotheistic religions, like Judaism and Islam, since they share similar roots with Christianity through Abraham is thought to be the same god. The claim is that Jews and Muslims just don't know God properly. This is completely counter to what Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In other words, they can't know the true God, until they know Jesus and what He has done for them.

Along similar lines, we live in a society that acts like the Bible is no different from any other sacred writing. The purpose of the Bible is to show us how we ought to live, so they think. The idea is that the Ten Commandments are the most important thing in it, rather than the Gospel message that Christ has kept them for us, and suffered our penalty for not being able to keep them. .

This is your world. And you may have absorbed some of this thinking without realizing it. It's when you start to stand for what you confess, that you will see very quickly the world is opposed to Christianity. When you were confirmed you took vows to stay steadfast in what you had been taught, and what you were taught and what you confess is not what the world says.

What's worse, is that more and more churches are saying the same thing as the world. Should this be a surprise? Who were the ones who persecuted the apostles? It was the religious people. That's why Jesus said "They will throw you out of the synagogues." These are church folks. The church begins to say the message you hold and confess is wrong. It says, "You have no right to say someone else is wrong." They define Christianity as being nice to everyone, and accepting what everyone does. This is called, "love." And when people of the church say this to us, it's easy to second guess yourself. Have I misunderstood? When your statement or the statement of your church is presented as though it were actually harmful to Christianity, it really makes you stop and think.

Talk about what is presented as harmful to the church: The church's ancient practice of closed communion, begun in the day of the apostles, is based on the idea that there is truth and the church practicing closed communion has all of it, while the other denominations may have some but not all. That's a very unpopular way of seeing other Christians, others who are still going to heaven, but don't have God's full revelation or have misunderstood parts of it.

It's scary to stand apart, though. It seems better that we just go along to get along. We're not quite sure what would happen, if we were to take a stand or at least not lead others to think you believe the same as they do.

What would happen if you did? Do you realize people around you need for you to take that stand? Look at what the Lord says in Ezekiel. "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name." And why is He concerned about His name? Because He wants the nations to know He is Lord. They can't look to Him for mercy if they don't know He is the one who gives it. And His people had trampled His name so badly none of the nations would even take a second look. Are we acting so much like everyone else, that people won't take a second look at what is the real message of Christianity? Is our situation much different from what the Lord was addressing in Ezekiel?

As you know, the position I take is extremely unpopular. The thing is, I'm bound to what I say. When I was first ordained as a pastor and each time I have been installed, I have said the same thing. And I recognize that as your spiritual leader, whether you want to hear what the Lord has to say or not, I am bound and you have bound me to it. You have promised to hold me faithful to this position in my call documents. So, it's tough to hear what I have to say and then to actually live this way. But if you do take a stand and live this way, what do you have to support you? These words to the apostles are not just for the apostles. A lot of Christians felt persecution.

It was because I was thinking about my own troubles that I was having a pity party, but then I realized what this text is saying and why it is saying it now. This is the week before Pentecost, and we are gearing up for the celebration, the time when Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit.

We want the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit. This is what God gives us to deal with the persecution the world throws at us. This is what the apostles were given which enabled them to face rejection from their former friends, imprisonment and even death. Look at the change in them. How else do you explain it? And we see the way it is done; the Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ. Furthermore, as we see Christ we see the price God Himself paid for our failure to stand apart, to seek to defend ourselves, to think only about our own problems.

You see, this is what helped me. I realized I was focusing too much on myself. My prayers were faltering and I was descending into this cycle of seeing only my problems. This text told me what I needed to do. I needed to pray that I would see Christ.

This is exactly what I do just about every time I go to the hospital. If you think I sound like I repeat myself when I preach, you ought to see what it is like when I make hospital visits. I used to think, "Aren't they getting tired of me saying the same thing?" and then I realized, "No, this is exactly what they need. People in the hospital or struggling with something else, need to see Christ." They need to see that because of Christ, they are the dear children of our heavenly Father. Because of Christ, our Father hasn't abandoned them, nor will He. Even though it may feel that way, they can have the sure confidence that if He did all this to His Son, His Son did all this for us, then they are very dear to our Lord.

It's just what we need. The Spirit witnesses to Christ. Listen to my words, because just as the disciples bore witness, having been actually witnesses, the Spirit still bears witness today in the words I say. Look at Christ. When you step out and feel the sting of rejection, it will hurt. Remember what Jesus said, "They will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me." But you do. He has called you before time and sealed His selection of you in your baptism. You are His dear child. He won't abandon you. It could get tough, but pray for the Holy Spirit, so that He will keep directing your attention to Christ. The disciples did this. And you have the same Spirit. Furthermore, just like we saw with the nations, without realizing it, the people around you are counting on you to stand up for the truth. You are an ambassador of truth among these people. Don't shy away from your calling as a Christian. The Spirit will be there to help. Pray for Him. Pray daily for a Pentecost, so you can face your calling in the world.

AMEN