Can you be silenced?

Good morning brothers and sisters. My title today is can you be silenced? Can someone really make you be quiet? I read a quote from Spurgeon- "When men hate Christ, they also hate those whom He has blessed and will go to any length in seeking to silence their testimony." I am learning believers and unbelievers alike do not like the true word of God. So I read in 2 Timothy 3:12- " Yes, and all who DESIRE to LIVE godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." God's word tells us if we decide to follow Jesus and live a holy life then yes people will SEEK to silence you. They will say false things. But to combat those things we must do what scripture says in Matthew 5:44- "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you," When others TRY to silence you or say things about you- PRAY! This does something inside of you. It changes you. You don't hold on to hate, revenge or malice. It keeps your heart humble. The second thing is, it confuses the crap out of those who seek to destroy you. It utterly confuses them. I know it is hard but if we are truly living like Christ and we have the Holy Spirit running our lives, then it will be easy. But there are reasons this comes. One the enemy can not lose another soul. And if the person/people who seek to destroy you and keep you silent, God will be there with you and the truth will come out. I hear every one speaking of the First Amendment but that is a man made law. What does God's law tell us? Yes, I am glad we have that or I could not do what I do. But God tells us to shout His goodness from the mountaintops regardless of what man says. But look what God has to say about all of this in Matthew 5:10-12- "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." God says we are blessed when they try and silence us, we are blessed when they speak falsely about us. We are to rejoice and be glad not just glad but exceedingly glad. So you see, NO and I will say again, NO they can not silence us. They can try. They can do all kinds of things but they can not silence us. I will go to my grave proclaiming Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. And one last Scripture as to why I am not afraid to live Jesus out loud. Matthew 10:26-28- " Therefore do NOT FEAR them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark; SPEAK in the light; and what you hear in the ear, PREACH on the housetops. And do NOT FEAR those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Twice Jesus tells do not fear. But He also gives us action words that we are to live out loud. Have a blessed day and shout the name of Jesus today. Rise up children of God, rise up!