Michael Koelling: Martyrs-witness

Martyrs

Martyr-from the Greek word for "witness"
1. One who chooses to suffer death rather than to deny Jesus Christ or His work.
2. One who bears testimony to the truth of what he has seen or heard or knows, as in a witness in a court of justice.
3. One who sacrifices something very important to further the Kingdom of God.
4. One who endures severe or constant suffering for their Christian witness.

Check out this video on YouTube:The world was not worthy of themhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEuMZOZV4fM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Mark 8:34-38 (NLT) "Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, He said, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. [35] If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. [36] And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? [37] Is anything worth more than your soul? [38] If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

1. Join His disciples.

The first thing I have noticed here in the scripture is that the disciples had made a decision to follow Christ.
Following Christ will cost you something.
Following Christ will cost you some attitude, cost you some friends, cost you some places that you used to frequent, cause you to keep your hands off of people that you are not married to, cause you to make right decisions.
That decision cost them something because Jesus took major notice of it.

Illustrate here: ladder, step up to God's plan, step up to leadership, step up to being the witness I am called to be.

2. Turn from your selfish ways.

What are you unwilling to turn loose of that will ultimately kill and destroy you?
Each and every one of us has a "something" that we battle against, fight with, and longs to incarcerate us.
Standing up for what is right is a key to freedom.
When you refuse to stand up for what is right privately or even in the face of your enemy it is sin.
God's revolutionaries on the earth have always been marked by their refusal to kneel to injustice or silence the truth for the sake of convenience, being accepted by the crowd, or personal gain.

A chain of bondage is placed upon a person link by link every time they turn away from the Truth or refuse to voice what is right.
On a personal level, this can enmesh us in a lifestyle of self-justification and lies.
Then the Truth becomes so obscured that we hardly notice when we violate it ourselves.

3.Follow me.

Jesus asks that we follow Him.

Follow truth.
Follow Him in the way we speak.
Follow Him in the way we forgive.
Follow Him in the way we serve, give, love, pray, and treat others.
Jesus lived His life right we should do the same.

Revelation 12:11 (NLT)
"And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die."

When we follow Christ we have full authority over the devil, over sin, and over death, Hell and the grave.
We don't have to live our lives in fear, we don't have to live our lives in unbelief, we don't have to live our lives in confusion.

Romans 10:9, 10 (NLT)"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."

The proof of your salvation is what comes out of your mouth everyday.
You have to say it, declare it, live it out.

You!
I believe, I will join His disciples up on the next level, I will turn from my selfish ways, I will follow Him.

Matthew 10:32-33 (NLT) "Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. [33] But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven."

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9] Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [10] For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

I challenge you to step up, join Christ's Disciples, turn form your selfish ways, and follow Him.