What To Do When Seized

Here's another one, a professing Christian who's utterly horrified at suffering and he's got trouble sleeping. Okay, how do we get our eyes on Christ in this? What if I all of a sudden become seized by some fear? Because that happens. Christians have seasons where they can get seized by fear. Now his was specifically the trauma at the torture, Tortured for Christ was Richard Wurmbrand's book. He got messed up by that book. But what happens when we get seized by some fear? Again, bring the Lord in. Christ, bring Christ directly. We're believing some kind of lie from the devil. What did Christ say? Who is he? What has he said? How do I get my eyes on him? How does he help? What do I need to hear him saying to me? Well, when we were on the cliffs of Nepal, I was actually gripped with that kind of fear and nothing helped till the next morning. I realized that I was believing the devil's lie that death is the end. So Jesus' words in John 8, 44, that the devil basically is a liar, but also just his words about him being the resurrection and the life and the fact that death is not the end and it's just a door. And even the suffering for his sake, you're blessed. And so that kind of just his word, his truth, though you die, yet shall he live. And even John 6, 37 and 40, he talks about he will raise it up on the last day and you'll be with me this day in paradise. I mean, all those truths about death sort of rescued me from the fear, but it was the truth that set me free. It wasn't really, there weren't any hymns I could sing to get me out of that. It just, I had to realize like, I'm believing some kind of lie. And once I got that truth, I was good, even though I was still kind of... Let me ask you this, were the disciples ever afraid? Peter, when he walked to Jesus, he like started to look at the wind and he becomes afraid. And then he's like, Lord, save me. And then Jesus reached down and saved him. And like, I think of that anytime I'm afraid, just like, Lord, save me. Can anybody think about all the times Jesus said, fear not? And you know, he always gave a reason. Do you ever notice that? Jesus didn't just say, you know, obliviously or in a vacuum, just don't fear. You've got nothing to fear, but fear itself. He didn't say some of these, you know, people say, oh, don't be afraid. They tell their little child, don't be afraid. People are always saying that. Don't be afraid. When really there are actually are a lot of things to be afraid of. But Jesus is talking to his little ones. Why shouldn't Christians be afraid? Prayers with us in our times of trouble. And he promises to deliver us from them all. Well, he said this. He said, Lord, I'm with you to the end of the age. He also said, I'll never leave you or forsake you. That was specifically of the Lord that was said. What are some of the things that he said specifically when he walked this earth as to why his disciples shouldn't fear? They can't throw them to hell. That's one thing our enemies, our enemies don't have the ability to harm. You know, the truth is. That what Jesus actually says is not only do they not have the ability to harm the soul. Now, he says he talks about them killing the body, harming the body. He talks like that, but, you know, in another place, he also said, not a hair of your head. And so you put both of those together. The reality is this. If somebody touches the hair of my head, it's because God has allowed it. And God is never going to put me into any kind of situation that he's not going to be there and give me grace. You remember what the Lord said to Paul? Paul said, Lord, would you please take this away? And he asked him three times. And the Lord's answer was? Grace is sufficient. Grace is sufficient. My grace. Right. Do you know? Do you know that if you're going to read Tortured for Christ, do you know what you don't want to miss? You don't want to miss all the supernatural times that Richard Wurmbrand can tell you. Wurmbrand says there were times his cell became white, like the brightest light. And he had visitations from God. It was Samuel Rutherford. He said, my enemies thought to make prison a living hell, and God made it heaven. If you've ever read about the Scottish Covenanters, I read a story where a man received seven wounds, any one of which would have been deadly. This guy had seven mortal wounds. They threw him in a dungeon. They slapped a bunch of chains on him. And his friends and comrades, fellow Christians, were chained against the walls. And they're looking out here at this man in a heap in the middle of the floor. He's dying. He's been mortally wounded. He's covered with these chains. And you know what that man said? I can't remember his name right off. It's like Senec or something, I believe. But he said that he did not believe that he was going to be able to last much longer. Okay, when a guy in that condition says that, you expect he's going to say, because of these wounds and I'm bleeding and I'm really hurt. You know what he said? He said, I am experiencing so much of the glory of God right now that I think it's going to kill me. Brethren, I just mentioned just recently, I think it was Sunday maybe, that there were times where Wurmbrand said he was being beaten. And every stroke, he physically, I mean, it was a spiritual, physical combination of feeling. He felt his love for that guard who was beating him grow with every blow. Brethren, we don't want to forget that there were murders that they took to the burning stakes at Smithfield. And they set these guys on fire and they sang. And they would stick their hands in the fire and wash it like they were washing it in their hands in water. I mean, you have to recognize God does not abandon his people in the hardest places, in the darkest places. He has promised to be with us and that is not an empty promise. Listen, we can bank on this. And so those are the promises. I mean, the thing is, brother, if we would have gone over those cliffs and we would have been pummeling down, I mean, it would have been all over. We would already be in glory. We wouldn't be here in the trials of this life. I mean, it's to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Look, I'm not going to say that I didn't look over that edge and feel the breath sucked right out of me. I mean, that was fearful. But brother, I'll tell you, I just had to say, Lord, I'm in your hands. And I really do believe what I said on Sunday. We're immortal until God takes us out of here. And I recognize, you know what, I could just as easily get killed on a nice solid street out here in front of my house than hanging off a cliff in Nepal. And I just had to get to the point where it's like, Lord, you may remember, there was a man who, John MacArthur tells the story about certain men who were evangelizing when the Titanic went down. And anyways, I've heard some stories, but I heard about one man who was floating on a piece of wood. And he was a Christian. And he said, Lord, there's no sense both of us staying awake. In other words, this guy's in the North Atlantic and freezing water out there drifting by himself. And he's on this board and he manages to balance himself well enough so that he could fall asleep. And it's just like, Lord, I think you've got control of the matter. And I just don't need to stay awake. I mean, that's where I had to come hanging on that cliff. It's like, there's no sense me being concerned about this because I can't. It's just like that. I can't add a cubit to my stature. I can't change this at all. And so there's no sense worrying about it. I might as well try to get some sleep. The Lord gives us everything. Think about His disciples when they walked with Him. I mean, He said to His Father, I haven't lost one. I mean, yes, Judas had to go. I mean, that was a reality that was prophesied. But He said, I haven't lost one. And you can be sure. We're the apple of His eye. He spent His blood. We're His bride. As much as you do it under one of the least of these, you do it under Him. He has a very special regard and concern for His children. And He knows where we're at. He knows what we're going through. He knows what we need. And He's given us all manner of promises. But, I mean, if you just think about the disciples walking with Him, and you think about the situations that they got into, I mean, Jesus led them through all of them. Peter might have been in a panic. But you know for certain, when Peter went out walking on that water, in the years afterwards, he knew. And I was close to the Lord. Nothing ever went wrong. I mean, the Lord never failed me. When I was with the Lord, I walked on water. And even when I was afraid, I made it back to the boat. And even then, we made it back to the shore. It's like I remember Him saying, Oh, you of little faith. I remember those waves. Jesus has given us every reason to trust Him. That's what the Gospels are all about. I mean, it's just overflowing with trust me. Trust me. See who I am. See what I do. See the love I have for sinners. Trust me.