Jesus spoke with His disciple’s on the Mount of Olives about the destruction of Jerusalem and they asked Him, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24:3-13 Jesus spoke often to His apostles about the things to come. Many today believe that we are indeed in the last days. I, personally, do not believe that we have reached the time of the end in which Jesus spoke. Yet, we need to carefully examine His words because He spoke of many things in which would come and He gave us the truth of things that would happen of a very long span of time. I will take the time in further writings to consider and comment of the separation of these things, yet, it is not for us to know the time nor to try and name it nor to hasten it. We need only to be aware of the obligations that we have as followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am not sure how many people are aware of the true history of the Christian faith. The accuracy of the words of our Lord are perfect and all that has been stated above has come true. It is the backbone of our faith, it is the strength of our belief and it is why we can openly call ourselves Christians today. Without His warnings and encouragement, I do not believe that there would be a Christian alive today. It began with the apostles. They witnessed, they were warned and they were scared. Oh, but Jesus, once sacrificed, came back to them. So, although they were scattered, they were also gathered. They were given the truth and the Holy Spirit and they were told to go tell it to the world. They went! With boldness and love, the truth was told. Paganism abounded and idolatry was the enemy. Politics and profit were part of the fight. The times were filled with superstitions and rituals. The signs and the miracles continued through the apostles so that the world which did not personally witness Jesus’ ministry would see His power and come to have faith in Him as the Son of God through those sent out by Jesus. It worked because it is the truth. People began to come to know the truth of God and of Jesus Christ and faith and belief began to spread. With each new believer that was given hope; a warning and encouraging word came as well. To stand firm in your beliefs and to expect persecution because of them. Persecution came. They died. Horribly, miserably and terribly, they died. The apostles died. They were stoned, beaten with clubs, tossed into prison and then beheaded, they were stabbed, skinned alive and crucified. They were rejected, spat on and treated as terribly as our Lord Jesus Christ and it was their pleasure to do so. You see, they knew the value of taking a stand in their faith. They knew what would come to them. They had been told and they knew the cost. It was worth it to them and it should be worth it to us. Without their conviction and determination we would not be here today to speak of Jesus with our freedom to do so. They were martyrs. A martyr is someone who is willing to die for his faith rather than to forsake it. They were given the opportunity, some of them, to renounce Jesus, but they didn’t. And neither did those who they inspired to come to believe in Christ. If you ever want to know the true cost of faith, read Fox’s Book of Martyrs. It is a book that will make you want to weep. The persecution that came to those who believe in Jesus is filled with executions of not only single men and women but entire families and children. They were boiled in oil, thrown to wild animals, put on the rack and stretched till all their bones broke, they were beheaded, had pruning hooks torn into their flesh, they had been burned and crucified and tossed into the waters with stones about their necks. Death came to those who followed Christ. In so many horrible ways and with so many thousands of bodies, death came. The Christians were blamed for so many things. If there was a famine, it was their fault, kill them. If there was a pestilence, it was their fault, kill them. If there was one thing that was done well, it was to blame the Christians and brutally kill them. The miracle of it all is what resulted from all of the killings. You see, such was the faith of these who believed in Jesus Christ, that their deaths inspired yet more belief. The strength and character that they died with kept making more and more Christians. The more they killed, the more witnesses were brought to believe in the strength and power of God and His Son. The more that the powers that be tried to eliminate all Christians, the more people wanted to be Christians. That is the power of God. That is the power and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, throughout the last 2000 or so years, there has been severe persecution of the followers of Christ. There has been an overcoming of paganism and there has been an intermingling of paganism into Christianity. The Reformation was brought about because of hypocrisy in the church. There was the Protestant movement because of hypocrisy and there has been so very much killing and accusations, stealing and power grabs because of religion. We are a people subject to perversions and selfishness. And yet, there is that one shining light that has glimmered through it all. It is our faith in Christ because it is Christ Himself. What have we done with the freedoms that have been won? What have we done with the truth that has been brought to us at a price that was so heavily paid? Are we so comfortable in our tolerance that we have forgotten the cost? The lives that were lost and the faith that was built has seemed to become so distant that is has to have been forgotten by most. The genuine depth of love that Christians should be claiming in the name of Jesus seems to have grown pale and watered down. We call ourselves tolerant and peaceful. We consider ourselves non-judgmental and un-condemning. Where is our voice of truth? Why are we so clearly allowing ourselves to become so complacent of evil? The people who died as martyrs did so not only because of their belief in Jesus, but in their belief in living their lives in the way in which He instructed. It was in refusing to succumb to indulging and participating in the lifestyles and rituals that were clearly against the way in which we need to be living as God fearing Christians. We have come to be the blind leading the blind. We sit in complacency and satisfaction to allow ourselves to be entertained. We have become weak in our faith and have allowed doubt and apathy to creep in. We are not vigilant in our morals nor are we particularly caring in our eternity. We have allowed our children to become non-believers as we ourselves have become. If we had half the faith that we believe we have, our nation would not be as it is. We, as a people of faith and conviction would not permit ourselves and our families to indulge in the filth that we do each day. We would be on guard and protecting ourselves and each other from committing sins that we know are the destruction and downfall of us all. Are we no better than those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah? Are we not more enlightened than those of the dark ages? Yet, here we are, saying, “Times have changed and the interpretation of the bible has to be taken in consideration of the times in which it was written.” Get a grip, people. There is nothing new under the sun. All is vanity. We need to consider our ways and our hearts. We need to consider our eternal souls and the price that will be paid at the end of the day. We need to consider those we think we love so much. I say that because true love is in sacrificing for those you love. When you love God and Jesus more than yourself, you will sacrifice your pleasures and enjoyment of your fleshly pursuits. You will teach your family the way to Heaven and you will keep your own faith as a living sacrifice to Christ Jesus. That is love. That is what is needed. It takes more than watered down Christianity to get to Heaven. It is not just to claim it, it is to do it. So, walk the walk. Consider those who came before you and paved the way. Consider your thoughts, your hearts and your souls. What does it really take? It all begins with prayer. It all begins with honesty. Be honest with yourself. Be honest with God and Christ. Be honest in your life. Find the truth of your soul by becoming silent. As Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God”. We, each of us, has to own all that we have done in this life; heart, mind and body. Remember the words of Jesus, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24 And Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15 Let us not forget the cost and the dear price paid by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not forget the cost and dear price paid by the apostles. Let us not forget the cost and dear price paid by the Christians along the way. Let us not take for granted a single day. Let us not be apathetic and complacent in our lives and our ways. Let us be ever more thoughtful of our path along the way. Let us come to Christ on bended knees and with broken hearts. Let us take the time to review ourselves. Let us bother with our souls and stop at all the play. Let us come to know the truth in our lives and choose to uphold our faith with strength. Let us become a more grateful people, knowing the cost and giving thanks that it was paid. I want to, personally, say thank you, first to Jesus for saving my soul, then to God for making it possible, and then to those who spoke so boldly through peril and persecution; I thank you all that the truth was told. For all of the martyrs, beginning with the apostles, we are blessed by your courage and strengthened by your conviction. May all of us take strength in ourselves to become bold in our souls and true to our faith in Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God bless each and every one of you. Pastor John Collins
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 12:20:31 +0000
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