Every football player has an opponent. Each player knows he must deal with the opponent so the team can succeed. Whether the player charges straight ahead or pulls to one side or the other to find his target it is practiced over and over with teammates so the team will win. Jesus told us we would face opposition.
One way we will face opposition is in the way of character. Character which is seen in Jesus is the ideal for the believer. When you practice this character opposition is the result and this opposition comes in the form of rejection by others, including family, friends and co-workers. Since rejection is the first stage of opposition, these character qualities are needed to face the eventual opposition. If I hunger and thirst for righteousness I should not find satisfaction in a righteousness of the world. I have often asked people in counseling if they want to be right or righteous. Sometimes these two are not the same thing. I may need to be merciful while the world says I should get even. The righteous standards of God are different from the world. Finally I am told to be a peacemaker. This is not the point of burying my head in the sand over wrong-doers but to go to them in love and try to bring resolution. Confrontation in love is God’s way and requires His agenda and not my vindication. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. I Peter 4:12-13
Another way you can face opposition is in the way of conviction. A conviction is a standard of life which does not waver. Someone without a biblical conviction could be seen as a sense of passion. A disciple who has the conviction that Jesus is the only one, will grow and take the message to the world. Jesus tells of being taken to religious courts and secular courts because of this conviction. His warning to be wise is to use the practical wisdom he gives to handle the situation to achieve his results. A disciple who finds he reacting to the opposition in similar fashion loses the opportunity to do the remainder of what he tells his disciples. As a pastor I have had to retain my conviction when “going along to get along” would be the easiest and safest. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. 2 Thessalonians 2:2
John and Betty Stam was a young couple working in a small town called Jingde near the eastern coast of China. In 1934, the magistrate of the town warned them that the communists were coming for them. John decided to check to see if this was true, which it was, so they prepared to leave. After the day of his arrest, John wrote a letter to mission authorities, but it was never delivered – it was found later bundled up in some of Helen’s clothes. The letter stated that they were being held by the communists with a ransom of $20,000. He also told them of how they had been captured, then wrote Philippians 1:20: "May Christ be glorified whether by life or death. The next morning, they were forced to march 12 miles to the town of Miaosheo. They stopped for a night, and Betty was allowed to tend to Helen, but in fact hid her in the room inside a sleeping bag. The very next morning, John and Betty were being marched down the streets of Miaosheo to meet their death. Crowds lined both sides of the street. A Chinese shopkeeper stepped out of the crowd and talked to the communists, trying to persuade them not to kill the Stams. They ordered the man back into the crowd, but he wouldn't step back. The soldiers then invaded his house where they found a Bible and hymnbook. He was then led alongside the Stams to be killed as well for being a Christian. After marching for a short while longer, John was ordered to kneel, and he was beheaded. Betty and the shopkeeper were killed moments later.
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