{"id":36186,"date":"2022-09-13T12:45:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/is-it-okay-to-fight-philippines\/"},"modified":"2022-09-13T12:45:09","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:45:09","slug":"is-it-okay-to-fight-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/is-it-okay-to-fight-philippines\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it okay to fight? (Philippines)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p><strong>No.<\/strong> Christians may <strong>not fight physically<\/strong>. It&#039;s devilish when people hit, beat, or rob us. But many have suffered for righteousness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Remember the great Apostle Paul&rsquo;s hardships. 2 Corinthians11:24-27, &ldquo;<strong>Five different times<\/strong> the Jewish leaders gave me<strong> thirty-nine lashes<\/strong>.&nbsp; <strong>Three times<\/strong> I was <strong>beaten with rods<\/strong>. Once I was <strong>stoned<\/strong>&hellip;I have faced danger from rivers and from <strong>robbers<\/strong>&hellip;I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced <strong>danger from men who claim to be believers<\/strong> but are not&hellip;I have been hungry and thirsty and have <strong>often <\/strong>gone <strong>without food<\/strong>. I have <strong>shivered in the cold&hellip;<\/strong>&rdquo; But Paul never physically fought back. He tried to <strong>escape<\/strong> and to <strong>protect himself<\/strong> but <strong>never used physical force <\/strong>against his enemies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jesus told His followers<\/strong> that they would be <strong>persecuted<\/strong>. He said,<br \/> Matthew 10:16-19, 21-23, 30-32, &ldquo;Look, I am sending you out as <strong>sheep among wolves<\/strong>. So be as shrewd as snakes and <strong>harmless as doves.&nbsp;<\/strong> But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be <strong>flogged with whips<\/strong> in the synagogues. You will <strong>stand trial<\/strong>&hellip;A brother will <strong>betray <\/strong>his brother to death, a father will <strong>betray <\/strong>his own child, and children will<strong> rebel<\/strong> against their parents and cause them to be killed. And all nations will <strong>hate you because <\/strong>you are my <strong>followers<\/strong>. But everyone who<strong> endures <\/strong>to the end will be <strong>saved<\/strong>. When you are<strong> persecuted<\/strong> in one town, <strong>flee to the next<\/strong>. &hellip;And the <strong>very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don&#039;t be afraid;<\/strong> you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, <strong>I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven<\/strong>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>God knows about all the evil things that happen to us. He cares so much about us that He even knows how many hairs are in our head. <strong>God is always in control<\/strong>. He <strong>permits<\/strong> these horrible trials to help us develop our faith and our characters. Just as Jesus learned obedience by suffering, so do we. (See Hebrews 5:8.) We are <strong>always<\/strong> to have <strong>faith <\/strong>and to behave in a <strong>Christ-like<\/strong> manner.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus instructed us how to respond:&nbsp;Matthew 5:39-42, 12, &ldquo;But I tell you, <strong>do not resist an evil person<\/strong>. If anyone <strong>slaps you<\/strong> on the right cheek, turn to them the <strong>other cheek also<\/strong>&hellip;<strong>love your enemies<\/strong> and <strong>pray<\/strong> for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven&hellip; Rejoice and be glad, because <strong>great is your reward in heaven<\/strong>&hellip;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, the scriptures prophesy that violence will increase in the last days. 2 Timothy 3:1, &ldquo;There will be <strong>terrible<\/strong> times in the <strong>last days<\/strong>.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We will pray for you. May God strengthen your heart, give you wisdom, and keep you&nbsp;under His wings of love.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No. Christians may not fight physically. It&#039;s devilish when people hit, beat, or rob us. But many have suffered for righteousness.&nbsp; Remember the great Apostle Paul&rsquo;s hardships. 2 Corinthians11:24-27, &ldquo;Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.&nbsp; Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned&hellip;I have faced danger from rivers &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/is-it-okay-to-fight-philippines\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Is it okay to fight? (Philippines)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}